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PLEA FOR AFRICA, 



FAMILIAR CONVERSATIONS 

Olf THE SUBJECT OP 
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE " YARADEE."] 

Revised and Enlarged. 



BY F. FREEMAN, 

Rector of St. David's Church, Manayunk ; author of " The Pastor's Plea for Saev*^d 
Psalmody," etc. 



HOMO SUM, HUMAITI NIL A ME ALIENUM PUTO." — Tcvence. 



SECOND EDITION, 



Philadelphia: 
PUBLISHED BY J. WHETHAM, 

No. 22 South Fourth street. 



1837. 






I Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the Clerk's Office of the 
District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



(.3 T^ \ 
» 1:^6 



* '. : ERRATA. 

On pape 202,OihV'C>th fron» the bottom, dele " iV." 

254, line 4ih do. do. in the note, for " representing, 
M(| re sped in::. 



WILLIAM STAVELT, PHlNTEIt, 

No. 12 Pear fireet. 



DEDICATION. 



TO THE 

HON. HENRY CLAY, 

THE DISTINGUISHED SOX OF THE WEST, THE ACCOMPLISHED STATES- 
MAX AND TRUE PATRIOT, THE FRIEXD OF FREEDOM AXD OF 
HUMAN- RIGHTS, THE ABIE AND ZEALOUS ADVOCATE 
FOR COLONIZATION, AND PRESIDENT 
OF THE AMERICAN COLONIZA- 
TION SOCIETY, 

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Advertisement, - - - - - - 11-12 

Conversation I. 

The claims of Afric worthy of consideration — Diversity of sen- 
timent— The African race often traduced — Capable of moral 
and intellectual distinction — Once an enlightened people — Dis- 
tinguished men— Degrading influence of paganism and ty- 
ranny, , 13-19 

Conversation II. 

Origin of the African race — Africa, by whom originally settled — 
The curse against Canaan — The curse explained — The predic- 
tion fulfilled — The enslaving of Africans not therefore just — 
Canaanites scattered — Africa not always to be oppressed, 20-25 

Conversation III. 

^Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God — Color of Afri- 
cans—Different tribes assimilated — Tradition respecting Cush— 
Early history of Africa obscure— Interior of Africa but little 
known — Africa's ancient glory — Light from Africa on other 
lands— That light reflected back, .... 28-35 ^ 

Conversation IV. 

Great reverses often in the history of nations — Much yet to ad- 
mire in Africa— Africa's distinguished ones — Prince Moro — 
Prince Abduhl Rahahman — Abduhl's father and Dr. Cox — 
Prince and Dr. Cox — Dr. Cox endeavors to free Prince — 
Prince's account of his capture — Carried to the W. Indies 
and Natchez, ....... 36-44 

Conversation V. 

Remains of Africa's former glory — Destined to rise — Travellers 
in Africa— Truth and fiction found together in travels— Afri- 
1* 



» CONTENTS. 

Africa — Prejudices against Africans — Distinctions on account 
of color — Less prejudice in other countries — Anecdote of 
Saunders, ..-...- 168-175 

CONA'ERSATION XVIII. 

Free blaclvs more degraded than slaves — Alarming proportion of 
crime among blacks — Either colonization or slavery necessary 
for the present — Colonization ameliorates the condition of the 
slave — Immediate and universal emancipation ruinous — Anec- 
dote — An unwelcome population — Baltimore memorial — Em- 
barkation of colonists, ..... 176184 

Conversation XIX. 

Africa a home f()r her children — Happiness and respectability 
promf)ted by removal — INIotives to respectability — African im- 
provement and colonization closely united — The foundation of 
a Christian empire laid — History of the American Colonization 
Society — Society organized — Originators and. Patrons — First 
emigration to Africa — Colonization agents visit Africa — 
Samuel John Mills— Death of Mills— Tribute to his memory, 185-193 

Conversation XX. 

Friends of Africa — Anthony Benezet — Object of the American 
Colonization Society — Generally approved — All may unite — 
Lafayette's views of the Society — Other distinguished friends 
— Auxiliaries — Legislative acts approbatory — Funds — Ecclesi- 
astical bodies approve, ..... 194-201 

Conversation XXI. 

Liberia— Location and chief settlements — Monrovia — Caldwell 
— rsew Georgia — Millsburgh — Marshall — Cape Palmas — Ad- 
dress of the Maryland Colonists — Bassa Cove — Fertility of Li- 
beria— Testimony of Park— Prodactions—Resourccs— Com- 
mercial advantages — Commerce of Liberia — Enterprise — Pros- 
perity, 202-211 

Conversation XXII. 

Climate— First selection of place unfavorable— Exposures of the 
early colonists— Discouragements at Jamestov^n and Plymouth 
Rrealer — Difficulties at Sierra Leone — Difliculties generally at- 
tend new settlement*- Desolations of the slave-trade— Huma- 
nity pleads for colonization — Honor to be pioneers — Address of 
citizens of Monrovia— Delightful climate for blacks— No com- 
petition, . . - . . . . 212-222 

Convertation XXII. 

Aid from the U. States— Recaptured slaves restored to Africa— 



CONTENTS. 9 

Early trials of the colony — Ashraun's defence — Ashmun'a 
death — His early history — Dies praying for Africa — Monu- 
ment— Poetical tribe, .-...- 222-227 

Conversation XXIV. 
Government of Liberia — Literary advantages — Library — Print- 
ing press — Testimony of Dr. Shane — Of Captain Kennedy — 
Of Capt. Nicholson— Of Capt. Abels— Of a British officer— Of 
Governor Mechlin — Of Capt. Sherman — Of Rev. B. Wilson — 
Of Dr. Skinner — Of Mr. Buchanan — Of Colonists — Religious 
privileges — Colonization a good cause — Good has been done, 228-243 

Conversation XXV. 
Young Men's Colonization Society of Pennsylvania— First ex- 
pedition — Interesting coincidences — Great success and encou- 
ragement — Bassa Cove — The slavers move the natives to at- 
tack the colony — No apprehension for the future — Prosperity 
of the colony — American Society — College in Liberia proposed 
— Such an institution needed — College necessary — Degenera- 
cy without knowledge — A college in Liberia full of promise 
— It will be sustained — Bassa Cove a delightful country — Co- 
lonists contented and prosperous— The colonies must succeed 
—Colonies should line the coast, .... 244-260 

Conversation XXVI. 

Right of Search — Convention of foreign powers — Extinction of 
the slave-trade — Recent facts — Slave-trade not practicable 
where colonies are planted— Great extent of coast exposed — 
Our national vessels should visit the coast — Some action of 
Congress desirable, - - - ... 261-268 

Conversation XXVII. 

Colonization is practicable — Best way of redressing Africa's 
wrongs — The cause of true patriotism — Its claims — Coloniza- 
tion or ruin — Difference of opinion among good men — In- 
crease of Blacks — Dangers from a mixed population, - - 268-276 

Conversation XXVIII. 

Even partial success a great blessing — Slaves of other times of 
the color of their masters — Colonization unites conflicting in- 
terests — All are benefitted — An honorable instance — Views i 
of an intelligent colored man— Our honor pledged — A na- 
tion's oath — Christian obligations — Heaven on the side of 
Africa — Africa and colonization the subject of many prayers, 276-285 

Conversation XXIX. 

A great and worthy enterprise— Africa's claims acknowledged— A 



10 CONTENTS. 

missionary field — Bright prospects — Fond anticipation of Mills 
— What more noble cause — Emancipation not our only duty — 
The country must engage in the work — Right of appropria- 
tion—True liberty secured to Africa, - - - 285-291 

Conversation XXX. 

Objections answered — Means of transportation — Great things 
usually accomplished slowly — Liberia compared with other 
colonies — Room in Africa — All opposition wrong — Shall not 
Africa be Christianized I — Responsibility of opposers — Coloni- 
zation and abolition societies not necessarily conflicting — 
Neither should molest or be molested — All good associations 
have not the same object — glorious results anticipated — If co- 
lonization fail, high hopes are blighted — It will prosper — The 
cause of God, ....... 292-302 

Appendix. 

Early and distinguished friends of Colonization — Robert Finley — 
James Madison — Thomas Jefferson — James Monroe— Charles 
Carroll — Bushrod Washington — John Marshall — Bishop White 
—Robert Ralston— Klias B. Caldwell— William H. Filzhugh 
— Thomos S. Grimke — Lott Carey — Dr. Randall — Dr. Ander- 
son—Melville B. Cox— and others, ..... 303-323 

Pre-eminent qualifications of the pioneers in colonization — 
Qualifications of the colonists generally — Acknowledgment 
of the valuable services of others in aid of the cause, 323-325 

Colonization and Africa have found generous friends among the 

fair sex, ....... 326-330 

Friends to the cause in England, ..... 330-331 

Objections of opposers, .... 331-347 

Mission to the interior of Africa, . . - . 347-349 

New Mission to Africa, ..... 349 

Notices of this work, etc. - - - - - - 351-354 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

[TO THE FIRST EDITION.] 



This little volume is thrown before the world without the 
usual array of names to sustain its claims to consideration. 
Its pretensions are not lofty : it refers to the importance of 
its subject, and with the solemn assurance that it has been 
written without any subserviency to party views, and with- 
out any unkind designs, it relies on the candor of the reader. 
The writer has followed the honest convictions of his own 
mind, and in connexion with facts that are indisputable, has 
expressed views which are the conscientious result of much 
reflection, personal observation, and a long residence and ex- 
tensive acquaintance at the South. He may have formed an 
erroneous judgment in some things pertaining to the subject, 
for 

" to err is human," 

and he lays no claim to infallibility ; but he loves truth, and 
has truly aimed at impartiality. If, on the one hand, he is 
constrained to admit a liability to bias from " northern pre- 
judice," he can sincerely say that, on the other hand, his 
warm admiration of the southern character and his affection 
for southern friends unite an all-sufficient counteracting in- 
fluence. He is fully aware that as these pages savor none 
of party, they will not find favor with the ultras of any 
opinion ; and he conceives it more than possible that some 
of opposing sentiments may each suppose that the writer 
favors the views of the other : if, however, whilst some dis- 
approve and condemn without cause, or are severe in criti- 
cism, the more candid approve, the writer will not complain. 
That these pages may do good, is the anxious wish of one 
who loves his country and sympathizes with his brethren in 
whatever part of the country, and also pities Africa and her 
oppressed children. 



12 ADVERTISEMENT. 

Particular acknowledgments of the aid derived in this 
work from the able remarks of several distinguished advo- 
cates for freedom and for human rights, are not given ; for 
the task would be inconvenient and useless. If any such 
find their thoughts or language here employed, they will re- 
quire no apology, satisfied to have aided by their writings 
this humble attempt at a plea for Africa, and will cordially 
unite with that of the writer, their earnest prayer that the 
claims of Africa may be better understood, and that we may 
all and each of us soon be able to s^y, without an exception 
or a blush, 

" Ubi libertas, ibi Patria." 



[FOR THE PRESENT EDITION.] 

In sending to the press a second, revised, and enlarged 
edition of his Plea for Africa, the author gratefully acknow- 
ledges the flattering reception which the first edition met, 
and the assurances he has had that it has been of utility to 
the cause which he seeks to promote. His prayer is that 
the work may still be useful, and that divine Providence 
may continue to smile on the eff'orts of all true friends of the 
African race. 

It is proper to add that much aid has been derived in the 
preparation, or revision of the Plea, from Rees' Cyclopedia, 
Rollin, Gregoire, Malte Brun, Eusebius, &;c. touching 
the early history of Africa and of the slave-trade ; and 
for later information, reference has chiefly been made 
to the African Repository and the other publications of 
tlie American Colonization Society and its auxiliaries. A 
part of the title to the first edition, " Yaradee," has been 
omitted in this, the name not helping to indicate the nature 
of the work, and having been found inconvenient, in some 
instances leading to the impression that the book belongs to 
the class of novels. 



s^ wihmA iF©iE AiFmnoi^o 



CONVERSATION I. 

" Eternal nature ! when thy giant hand 
Had heaved the floods, and fixed the trembling land, 
When life sprung startling at thy plastic call, 
Endless her forms, and man the lord of all ; 
Say was that lordly form, inspired by thee, 
To wear eternal chains, and bow the knee ?" — Campbell 

'The subject of your discussion,' said Mr. L, as he 
folded the paper which had for some time absorbed his at- 
tention, and turned to his children, who in the opposite part 
of the parlor, whilst he was reading, had been as busily em- 
ployed in discussing the merits of the Colonization and Anti- 
slavery Societies, ' is certainly one that commends itself to 
the heart of humanity in either sex and among all people. 
Your inquiries, last evening, I had not time then to answer 
fully ; but I shall be happy now to give you all the informa- 
tion in relation to it, in my power.' * 

The little group which Mr. L. thus addressed, consisted 
of his eldest daughter, Caroline, a lovely and interesting girl 
of sixteen ; Henry, a sprightly and intelligent boy, who was 
next to his sister Caroline in age, and their two younger 
brothers, and little sister Mary. Caroline and Henry were 
conducting the debate, but all seemed deeply interested in 
the subject, and the eyes of all glistened with pleasure when 



14 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Diversity of sentiment. 



Mr. L. proposed to gratify their wishes by assisting them to 
understand a subject which they found attended with at least 
some difficulty. A beloved and respected father is authority 
to which a dutiful and affectionate child loves to refer for in- 
formation and advice, and to which, ordinarily, an appeal is 
made with great confidence. 

Said Caroline, * I thought from your remarks, last even- 
ing, my dear father, that you supposed the views of both 
Henry and myself to be somewhat incorrect ; and I think 
nothing more probable than that mine are, for I confess I 
know not what to believe when I notice the conflicting opi- 
nions of so many good men in relation to this subject.' 

' It need not surprise us,' rejoined Mr. L., ' to find pre- 
vailing some diversity of sentiment on a subject which, 
whether presented to the mind of patriot, philanthropist, or 
Christian, involves considerations of so great and important 
interest. Nor will it be thought strange by me, if my dear 
children should find, when we come to converse freely and 
fully on the subject, that they are in some respects in error, 
not in matters of opinion only, but of fact. I therefore sug- 
gested to you, last evening, for I had not time to say more, 
that, possibly you might find yourself, in some things, la- 
boring under mistake. The hint was given, you will recol- 
lect, Caroline, in consequence of a remark of yours in re- 
spect to the ** obtuseness^^ of the African intellect.' 

' But, Pa,' said Caroline, with some degree of surprise, 
and with apparent incredulity, ' I presume you do not think 
the remark unjust ? The stupidity of Africans, I suppose to 
be proverbial.' 

A point was now touched which it was evident had inte- 
rested the feelings of the children in the previous conversa- 
tion that had been held whilst Mr. L. was engaged in read- 
ing ; for the smaller children drew closer around the table, 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 15 



The African race often traduced. 



and Caroline and Henry looked at each other and at their 
father, as if this was a matter respecting which they had not 
only agreed, but wondered that any one, and especially one 
whose opinion they so much respected, could entertain a 
thought different from theirs. The reply of Mr. L. engaged 
their feelings still more : ' It is true, my daughter, that in de- 
fiance of all records of antiquity, whether sabred or profane, 
and equally regardless of the evidence which our own times 
may furnish, the African race are often mentioned as if a dis- 
tinct order of beings, a grade between man and brute ;* but — 

* O Pa !' interrupted C, ' I have no such idea as that.' 

*I know that you have not,' resumed Mr. L., 'but, my 
daughter, you may not be doing ample justice to the Afri- 
cans, if you suppose them incapable of the finest sensibilities 
and sympathies of our nature, and of making great advances 
in all that requires strength or even brilliancy of intellect, as 
any other people.' 

* Is it not strange, then. Pa,' C, inquired, * that none of 

* It is earnestly contended by some that the negro race are so inferior by 
nature to the rest of mankind that perpeUial slavery is the destiny to which 
they are best adapted. They have been stigmatized " the disgrace and mis- 
fortune of the human raoe." Others assert that the skull or cranium of the 
negro shows him t-o belong to a distinct species ; and to settle the question 
whether the negro race be not a distinct species, reference has in some in- 
stances been made to the cranium. Nothing, however, can be argued from 
this source against fads that show the negro race to be capable of great 
mental effort and distinction, if such facts can be made to appear; and we 
think an impartial mind will not, upon inquiry, deny that very many in- 
stances of both moral and intellectual distinction among the race can be ad- 
duced. 

In Rees' Cyclopedia it is well remarked, " Without denying that there are 
differences both in the extent and kind of mental power, (in the various races 
of men,) we are decidedly of opinion that these differences are not sufficient 
in any instance to warrant us in referring a particular race to an originally 
different species ; and we protest especially against the sentiments of those 
who would either entirely deny to the Africans the enjoyment of reason, or 
who ascribe to them such vicious, malignant, and treacherous propensities 
as would degrade them, even below the level of the brute. It can be proved 
most clearly that there is no circumstance of bodily structure so peculiar to 
the negro, as not to be found in other far distant nations ; no character which 
does not run into those of other races, by the same insensible gradations as 
those which connect together all the varieties of mankind." — Article Man. 



16 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Once an enlightened people. 



the African race have ever been distinguished for talent ? I 
can easily conceive that Africans may have warm hearts ; 
but it hardly seems to me that you are serious, Pa, when 
you speak of the capabilities of the African mind ?' 

* My daughter may be quite as incredulous then, if told 
that this very people, now so degraded, and who have been 
as if by common consent so long and so much traduced, were 
for more than a thousand years, which is almost twenty 
times longer than the government under which we live has 
been in existence, the most enlightened people on the face 
of the globe V 

' What, Pa, the Africans T 

' Yes, my daughter.' 

' Why, Pa, you surprise me. You certainly do not mean 
to be understood that Africans have ever been distinguished 
for genius and intellectual attainments V 

' I do, my daughter, as strange as it may seem. Africa, 
unhappy Africa, is now degraded, and wherever are her sons 
and daughters, they are reproached and trampled under foot ; 
but among her children stand immortalized in history a long 
list of names, as honorable, for aught I know, as any nation 
upon earth can produce.' 

This, C. professed, was to her a new idea ; and Henry 
who admitted that he had ' always thought the Africans a 
much injured people,' and who protested that he felt ' very 
litde respect for those people who sometimes place the Afri- 
can on a level with baboons,'' acknowledged ' that the idea of 
literature and science associated with an African name,' was 
as novel to him, as it was to Caroline. 

' You do not mean. Pa,' H. inquired, ' that any consider- 
able number of Africans have discovered genius, or been dis- 
tinguished for the cultivation of their minds V 



PLEA rOR AFRICA. 17 



Distinsjuished men. 



Caroline declared that she did not ' know a single instance, 
unless it be that of Phillis Wheatley, who lived in Boston, 
sixty years ago, and wrote some very pretty poems.'* 

* You have both of you, my dear children,' said Mr. L., 
* heard of Cyprian*, St. Augustine, and Tertullian, those 
fathers of the church ; they were Africans. Terrence, who 
has been called 

" As sweet a bard 
As ever strung the lyre to song," 



was an African, and was once a slave. Quintillian says that 
Terrence was the most elegant and refined of all the come- 
dians whose writings appeared on the Roman stage. You 
have also read of Haxno and Hannibal ; they were among 
the valiant ones of Africa. It is said that the science of Al- 
gebra originated in Africa. And what is more, the time was 
when Religioji shed her rays brilliantly upon that now be- 
nighted quarter of the globe, and the church was there pros- 
perous. Ecclesiastical history tells us that in one council of 
the church in that country, assembled on a question of great 
importance, two hundred and seventy-seven Bishops took 
their seats.' 

Henry now inquired of C. if she had ever thought of these 
as being Africans ; confessing that he had not, although it 
now seemed to him strange that he never had. He thought 
that one would hardly suppose, looking at Africa as she now 
is, that such men were her sons. And C. who also knew 
the fact that these were Africans, and could tell much of the 
ancient history of Africa, for she was well versed in history, 
both modern and ancient, but had been so long accustomed 

* ^^i^i^^ ^^^® ^^^^ in Africa — torn from her country at the age of seven, 
and in 1761 sold to John Wheatley of Boston. " Allowed to employ herself 
in study, she rapidly attained a knowledge of the Latin language. In 1772 
at the age of nineteen, and still a slave, she published a volume of religious 
and moral poetry, which passed through several editions" on both sides the 
Atlantic. She obtained her freedom in 1775, and died five years afterward 

a2 



18 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Degrading influence of Paganism and Tyranny 



to identify the whole of Africa with the specimens she had 
seen, and to judge of the intellectual powers of all by the 
present degradation of the great portion of the Negro race 
in this country, that she had lost sight of so important facts, 
or at least was unaccustomed to think of them in this con- 
nexion, professed to be * quite ashamed' of herself. ' I 
really do not know,' she said, ' which most surprises me, my 
own stupidity in relation to this subject, or the interesting 
views which open to my mind, by reason of the light which 
Pa has thrown upon it. But, Pa,' she continued, ' the whole 
continent of Africa is exceeding degraded now ; do you not 
think that the African intellect, generally, has greatly dete- 
riorated V 

' My daughter,' said Mr. L., ' human nature, in whatever 
situation is wronged, if we judge of its capacity unfavora- 
bly, merely because we find that paganism and tyranny de- 
grade those that fall under their influence.* Perhaps, how- 
ever, we shall pursue this whole subject to greater advantage 
if, taking time for its consideration and discussion, we cafl 
to our aid somewhat of system in arrangement of topics, and 

* " From ihe paralyzing influence of slavery, the ancient slaves of all na- 
tions, whatever iheir complexion, were considered inferior in intellect. This 
is noticed by Homer : 

' For half his senses Jove conveys away. 
Whom once he dooms to see the servile day.' 

Yet what was benumbed, was not destroyed. Outof the stagnant pool of slave- 
ry arose a Servius Tullius,the sixth king of Rome; an ^sop, one of the wise 
men of Greece ; a Phaedrus, who wrote fables in Iambic verse : an Ale- 
men, a Lyric poet; an Epictetus, the celebrated stoic philosopher; and a 
Terrence, a distinguished dramatic writer among the Romans. * * The 
present depressed state of the African mind may be accounted for without 
supposing any original or permanent inferiority. For thirty centuries they 
have been the common spoil of the world, and treated as if they were made 
only for slaves. And as to those who are found in other countries, what 
could be expected of creatures so circumstanced ? Torn from their native 
soil in a state of nature, kept in the profoundest ignorance, with every ob- 
stacle opposed to their improvement, depressed by the most cruel treatment, 
by a series of wrongs enough to extinguish the last spark of genius, and 
with no hope— no incentive to exertion."— President Griffin's Plea for 
Africa. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 19 



Conversation deferred. 



glance in the first place at the former history of Africa, and 
then at her condition in later times, noticing the wrongs that 
have been done her in the prose<jution of the slave-trade, and 
the claims which Africa has upon our sympathy and justice 
for redress. So that, if you please, we will make this the 
general plan of our conversations ; and as other topics of in- 
terest connected with the general subject, and growing out 
of it, naturally present themselves, they also may be noticed. 
I am pleased to see you interested in the welfare of Africa, 
and disposed to acquire correct views, and cherish right feel- 
ings in respect to so important a subject. My own sympa- 
thies are strongly enlisted in behalf of that much injured 
people. Their claims to our sympathy and humanity have 
been too long neglected.' 

Both Caroline and Henry expressed much satisfaction 
with the arrangement proposed, which they assured Mr. L. 
was very grateful to their feelings, and expressed also a hope 
that by their attention and improvement, they might be able 
to give other proof that they appreciate his kindness. 

Mr. L., on the other hand, intimated that he had great 
reason to rejoice that his children gave him so much evidence 
of their affection and respect, and so much promise in their 
dutiful, and upright, and ever amiable deportment, of future 
respectability and usefulness and happiness. 

The conversation was now deferred to another time. 



20 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Origin of the African Race. 



CONVERSATION II. 

" God drave asunder, and assign'd their lot 

To all the nations. Ample was the boon 

He gave them, in its distribution fair 

And equal ; and he bade them dwell in peace." — Cowper. 

' Well, my son, Caroline and I are waiting for you that we 
may take up the subject of our last evening's conversation,' 
said Mr. L., after a little conversation with C. on various 
topics, while Henry seemed to be busily engaged, in the ad- 
joining room, in turning over the pages and examining the 
contents of a large folio which lay before him. 

* I am ready. Pa,' said H. ; 'I was looking at what is said 
under the word "Africa," in the Encyclopedia. C. and I 
have been examining one book after another a great part of 
the day, to satisfy ourselves from which of the sons of Noah 
the Africans are descended. The Old Testament has been 
C.'s chief book of reference, whilst Calmet, and Brown, and 
others have been searched by me, I confess, without much 
benefit' 

Caroline was confident that their father could give them 
more information on the subject in one half hour than they 
might otherwise acquire ' by a whole month's study.' 

Mr. L. remarked, ' I think we proposed, last evening, to 
glance first at the history of the African race : the question 
you were agitating, then, in respect to their origin^ is the 
first to be considered. On this point we must refer to a pe- 
riod which profane history does not reach, but on which the 
word of God sheds its holy light, teaching us that Africa was 
planted by the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. 

*Ham, you will recollect, had four sons. Of these it is 
generally agreed, that Cush settled in Lower Egypt, and that 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 21 



Africa, by whom originally settled. 



from him were descended the ancient ^Ethiopians, known to 
us as the Nubians and Abyssinians, and embracing also 
those unknown nations inhabiting the equatorial regions of 
the African continent. Hence, " CusJi'^ is the name applied 
in the Hebrew Bible to ^Ethiopia, embracing also in its fre- 
quent application Africa in general. Mizraim, the second 
son, peopled what was known to the ancients as the The- 
bais, Hermopohs, Memphis, and Delta of the Nile ; but bet- 
ter known to us as parts of Upper and Lower Egypt, some- 
times called in the Hebrew scriptures *' the land of Ham," 
oftener " Mizraim." From him also were descended the 
inhabitants of Colchis, the ancestors of the warlike Philis- 
tines. Phut, another son, peopled Lybia and Mauritania, 
embracing the kingdom of Fez, the Deserts, Algiers, and 
other portions. From these, with such additions as emigra- 
tion and frequent conquest have given, it is probable that all 
the nations of Africa, however divided, mixed, or dispersed, 
originally came.' 

Henry suggested, 'You have not mentioned Canaan, tel- 
ling us where he settled ; I suppose, from the omission, that 
he settled in Asia, in the country called by his name V 

' Yes : Canaan, the youngest son of Ham, settled in 
" Canaan," so called after him, which is sometimes called 
in scripture " Judah," and is also familiarly known by us as 
the "land of promise," and is also called " Palestine." A 
colony of Phoenicians, known in scripture as Canaanites, 
settled at Carthage, and probably spread themselves over 
other portions of Africa.' 

C. here referred to an impression on the minds of many, 
that Africans generally are descended from Canaan ; and 
that they are therefore doomed to perpetual slavery by the 
curse which Noah denounced against him. Genesis ix. 25 — 
27. She thought she had heard advanced, or had some- 
where read a sentiment of the kind. 



22 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The curse denounced against Canaan. 



H. thought that they who suppose this, should have better 
reasons than they have for considering the Africans descend- 
ed from Canaan, before they make such an application of 
the words of Noah. Being requested by his father, he read 
the passage : " Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants 
shall he be unto his brethren. Blessed be the Lord God of 
Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge 
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Ca- 
naan shall be his servant." 

' That,' observed Mr. L., ' is truly a remarkable prophecy. 
It is supposed, by Commentators, to have been recorded for 
the encouragement of the Israelites in warring with the Ca- 
naanites. The passage is attended with some difficulty in 
the minds of many, who, to obviate that difficulty, read the 
original, "Cursed be ^am, the/a//ier of Canaan ;" in which 
case you see that Africa would, beyond doubt, be affected by 
the denunciation. And if it have not this meaning, it may 
indeed be difficult to see the propriety of applying the curse 
to Africa at large.' 

It was very natural that both C. and H. who had been 
giving their close attention to the instructions of Mr. L., 
should here ask, for they did not see, ' why any should 
change the reading of the translation to make the curse rest 
on Ham !' The difficulty, however, which some have found, 
or imagined, in the proper application of the denunciation, 
Mr. L. explained, referring them to the 24lh verse of the 
same chapter, which verse immediately precedes the denun- 
ciation, and reads as follows ; " And awoke from his wine, 
and knew what his younger son had done unto him." 

Henry now saw, at once, the difficulty. ' His younger 
son,' H. exclaimed ; ' Ham was Noah's second son, was he 
not. Pa ?' 

' Yes ; it appears that Ham was the second^ and not the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 23 



The curse explained. 



youngest, as they suppose is implied by the term in the 
original translated younger. But the way in which Ham is 
introduced in connexion with the subject of Noah's intoxi- 
cation and exposure, (" And Ham, the father of Canaan, 
saw the nakedness of his father, and told it to his two 
brethren without,") has led some to infer that Ham was 
the youngest. At the same time, the frequent mention of 
Canaan, in connexion with the transaction, has suggested to 
the mind of others that Canaan was also criminal ; and, by 
them, the expression, *' knew what his younger son had 
done," is thought to refer to Canaan, the grandson. Ca- 
naan, they suppose, first discovered Noah's situation and told 
it to Ham.* 

' Be all this as it may, the history of this painful trans- 
action, is full of serious instruction. You see a very strik- 
ing contrast between the conduct of Ham in exposing to his 
brethren Noah's disgraceful fall, and their commendable de- 
portment in doing what they could to conceal their father's 
infirmity and guilt. It is very evident that Ham could lay 
claim to none of the finer sensibilities of our nature if judged 
by this one act. His behaviour was exceeding unamiable 
and reprehensible ; and he must have felt the rebuke to be 
deserved, when his own father was inspired to predict the 
consequent oppression and slavery of his posterity. And 
Canaan, if guilty, as has been supposed, was as severely re- 
buked, knowing that the curse would rest especially on that 
branch of the family which should descend from himself. 
The example of Shem and Japheth on the occasion, is 
worthy of commendation ; and a blessing belongs to those 
who imitate their amiable deportment, as a curse assuredly 

* "The Hebrews believe that Canaan, having first discovered Noah's 
nakedness, told liis father Ham ; and that Noah, when he awoke, hating 
understood what had passed, cursed Canaan, the first reporter of his expo- 
sure. Others are of opinion, that Noah, knowing nothing more displeasing 
10 Ham, than cursing Canaan, resolved to punish him in his son." — Calmet. 



24 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The curse fulfilled. 



awaits all who copy in their spirit or conduct the pattern of 
Ham and Canaan. 

* To your inquiry, Henry, whether the prediction of 
Noah has been evidently fulfilled in the descendants of Ham 
or Canaan, I would reply, that if we are to consider the 
curse as resting on the descendants of Ham generally, we 
may see its fulfilment in the wrongs which unhappy Africa 
has suffered by the oppression and servitude to which her 
children have so long been subjected. The history of Af- 
rica for a long period, has been, for the most, one of deep 
suff'ering, ignominy, outrage and crime ; a tale of sorrow 
broken by few intervals of happiness or of rest. It has 
been justly remarked of the whole continent that it "has 
lain, like some huge and passive victim, with darkness 
throned like an incubus upon its bosom, while every rep- 
tile of evil omen and hateful form has preyed undisturbed 
on its palsied extremities." At the North of Africa, " the 
conflicting interest and crooked policy of Europe permitting 
an organized system of piracy ;" Egypt, from the days of 
Cambyses, a tributary province, and prey of the rapacious 
Mameluke ; in Abyssinia, tlie lamp of Christian truth glim- 
mering in its socket, and casting its flickering beams on a 
degraded and brutalized population ; ignorance and barbar- 
ism consolidated and established by Mahometan influence in 
the South of Africa ; at the Cape of Good Hope, human 
nature degraded and oppressed ; and on the West of Africa, 
the slave factory and slave ship doing their accursed work 
and sweeping into distant and hopeless bondage unhappy 
thousands, Africa may truly be said to have had the very 
dregs of bitter aflliction wrung out to her.' 

' But what. Sir, if the denunciation of Noah is considered 
to be against Canaan and his posterity alone V 

' We shall still be at no loss to find in their history a re- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 25 



The enslaving of Africans not to be justified. 



markable fulfilment. The devoted nations which God de- 
stroyed before Israel, were descended from Canaan ; and so 
were the Phoenicians, and the Carthag-enians who were sub- 
jugated with dreadful destruction by the Greeks and Ro- 
mans. The descendants of Canaan, as a general knowledge 
of the outlines of history will be sufficient to show, have 
been subjected to those of Shem and Japheth through many 
generations.' 

* The whole posterity of Ham then appear to have been 
signally the victims of misfortune and oppression V 

' They certainly have, my son.' 

' I have been running my eye over this Commentary,' said 
C, * on the passage of scripture to which we have referred ; 
shall I read a sentence ? Bishop Newton, you will see, Pa, 
takes it for granted that the curse denounced is upon Ham 
and all his descendants.^ 

' Read it, Carohne.' 

Caroline reads the sentence she proposed : " The whole 
continent of Africa was peopled principally by the de- 
scendants of Ham ;* and for many ages have the better 
parts of that country lain under the dominion of the Romans, 
and then of the Saracens, and now of the Turks ! In what 
wickedness, ignorance, barbarity, slavery, and misery, live 
most of the inhabitants ! — and of the poor negroes, how 
many hundreds, every year, are sold and bought, hke beasts 
in the market, and conveyed from one quarter of the world 
to do the work of beasts in another !" ' But, Pa,' said she, 
' even if the whole race of Africans are embraced in the 
curse, it does not therefore afford a vindication of slavery, 
or excuse for the cruel oppression of the African, does it V 

* From the name of Ham, also Avritten Cham, signifying burjit, svcarthy, 
black, an argument has sometimes been raised in favor of this position. — See 
Calmet. 



26 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Africa not always to be oppressed. 



* No, Caroline : God has not, as I think, authorized us to 
enslave Africans, whatever authority may be claimed for 
Israel to drive out, and scatter and destroy the idolatrous 
Canaanites. The covetous desires and barbarous practices 
of those who seek to enrich themselves with the products of 
the sweat and blood of Africa's unhappy sons, and for this 
purpose tear them away from their native country, are with- 
out apology. Nor, whether the prediction and denunciation 
of Noah affect Canaan and his descendants alone, or Ham 
and his posterity generally, is it to be supposed that Africa 
is therefore either the lawful prey of violence and outrage, 
or that she is doomed to perpetual degradation and wrongs. 
Admitting that the prediction has been remarkably fulfilled, 
whether on Canaan, or Africa generally, and that however 
wicked the oppressor has been, he was a scourge in the 
hand of God, fulfilling a just decree, and an important pre- 
diction involving the authenticity of a portion of the sacred 
volume ; still, neither are the oppressors therefore innocent, 
nor are we to suppose that the oppressed are never to cease 
to be the victims of the denunciatory decree. The same 
Scriptures which, turning to Africa, appeal for one testimony 
of their truth to tlie fulfilment of the curse, are, we should 
remember, also to gather another argument from the fulfil- 
ment of the prediction which says — " ^^thiopia shall soon 
stretch out her hands unto GocW^ This prediction and 
promise must be fulfilled, nor can all creation stay the 
Almighty arm that will be uplifted to break the rod of her 
oppressors. Africa will be free. Her chains will fall. 

' We will resume the subject this evening.' 



PLEA FOR ATRICA. 



^Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God. 



CONVERSATION III. 

" How are we astonished when we reflect that to the race of negroes, at 
present our slaves, and the object of our extreme contempt, we owe our arts 
and sciences and even the very use of speech ; and that in the midst of those 
nations who call themselves the friends of liberty and humanity, involuntary 
servitude is justified, while it is even a problem whether the understanding 
of Negroes be of the same species with that of white men." — Volney. 

* Well, Pa, I suppose you remember the encouragement 
which you gave us that you would resume the interesting 
subject of Africa this evening V said CaroHne, as she saw 
her father lay aside the ' Evening News' and remove his 
spectacles from his eyes, the well known signal to the chil- 
dren that the hour of leisure was come. ' You closed the 
conversation, this morning, with reference to that important 
prediction of Scripture, " .Ethiopia shall soon stretch out 
her hands unto Godf are we to understand the Prophet 
who utters this, to have reference to Africa generally, or to 
the descendants of Cush, the grandson of Noah only V v 

* The word ^^th'wpia in our English Bibles, it is true, is 
Cush in the original Hebrew ; but the term seems to have 
a more extended application than the names of either of 
Ham's other sons. Cush, or ^Ethiopia, is a name by which 
Africans in general have been known. "Whether it is be- 
cause the race of Africans are mostly descendants of Cush, 
which I think highly probable, that this term is more used, 
I am not able to determine ; but such is the fact — ^Ethiopia 
is a term of extensive application.' 

Henry having here inquired ' whether the Cushites, or 
^Ethiopians, were always black,' Mr. L. rephed, ' There 
can be no doubt that this people were black as long ago as 
ixi^ days of Jeremiah ; and, if we are to credit Arabian tesli* 



28 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Color of Africans. 



monies, ages before. Jeremiah asks, " Can the Cushite 
(^Ethiopian) change his skin ?" ^Ethiopian is a name de- 
rived from two Greek words denoting the color of the skin, 
(a/-3-a-, to burn, and u^, the countenance — that is, burnt-face,) 
on account of the Ciishite's dark complexion.' 

' What,' asked Henry, ' was the complexion of the an- 
cient Egyptians ; were they black also V 

' Herodotus, who, you know, is called the father of his- 
tory, says, speaking of the ancient Colchos, since called 
Mingrelia, whose inhabitants were originally Egyptians, and 
colonized when Sesostris, king of Egypt, extended his con- 
quests in the north, " For my part, I believe the Colchi to 
be a colony of Egyptians, because, like them, they have 
black skins d^nd frizzled hair.^^-^ The inhabitants of Egypt, 

* In another place this celebrated historian, who flourished in the fifth cen- 
tury before the coming of Christ, and who travelled extensively in Egypt, 
and one of whose books is devoted lo a description of its inhabitants, their 
manners, customs, character, arts and history, derived from personal inspection 
of the country and the narratives of their learned men, relates a fabulous ac- 
count of the establishment of the temple of DodonainGreece, by, as he ex- 
plains the fable, an Egyptian priestess, represented by a black dove ; and 
says that the circumstance of its " being black explains the Esyptian origin 
of the priestess." In speaking of these remarks of Herodotus, Volney says, 
" it shows that the ancient Egyptians were real negroes, of the same species 
with ail the natives of Africa : and though, as might be expected, after mix- 
ing for so many ages with the Greeks and Romans, they have lost the in- 
tensity of their first color, yet they still retain strong marks of their original 
conformation." Diodorus Siculus, another ancient historian, informs us that 
*' the Ethiopians consider the Egyptians as one of their colonies." It may 
greatly startle some who have heard of " the fame of Egypt's wisdom — of 
the gigantic size of her eternal pyramids — the splendor of her twenty-thous- 
and cities — of Thebes with her hundred gates and superb palaces and tem- 
ples — of the wisdom of her laws and policy — of her mighty conqueror Se- 
sostris, who drew kings at his chariot wheels and left monumental inscrip- 
tions of his prowess from Ethiopia to India," to be told that "Egypt — an- 
cient, renowned, victorioHs Egypt, the mother of science and arts, both an- 
cient and modern, was inhabited by negroes — that Egyptians were in fact 
black and curly-headed," especially if they have been accustomed to think 
with a distinguished governor of the south, that God has "stamped inferiority 
and slavery on the negroes' brow" The author, however, does not here un- 
dertake to settle this question — his object is impartially to state the facts 
in the case. There are many that have high claim to literature who un- 
hesitatingly contend that the negro may prove " his illustrious consanguini- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 29 



Different tribes of Africa assimilated. 



however, have long been a mixed community of Copis, 
Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and Mamelukes. The 
Copts are generally supposed to be the representatives of 
the ancient Egyptians, and it is said prove their origin by a 
striking resemblance to the paintings and sculptures of the 
ancient temples, and to the mummies.* They are generally 
described as of a dusky complexion, dark and curled hair, 
thick lips, and scanty beard. In some features, they differ 
from the negro race on the western coast of Africa, and in 
the interfor. There are, indeed, slight shades of variety 
which distinguish all the different tribes of Africa. It 
may not be necessary to enter on a particular description of 
each. However diversilied may be the different tribes. 



ty, allied in blood — in brotherh(x>d — in color — even in his short and curling 
hair to the conquerors and instructors of mankind." 

The Hon. Alexander H. Everea, a finished scholar of great research, and 
who would not make the aseriion inconsiderately, has said of them. " It is 
sometimes pretended, that, though Africans, and of Ethiopian extraction, 
they were not black. But what sTays the father of history, who had travel- 
led among them, and knew their app>earance as well as we know that of oar 
neighbors in Canada ? Herodotus teiU us that the Egyptians were blacks, 
with curled hair. Some writers have undertaken to dispute his authority, 
but I cannot bring mvself to believe that the father of history did not know 
black from while." 

*It may be prDper here to remark that there has been some diversity of 
opinon among the learned in regard to the character of Egyptian mummies- 
•• Bluraenbach has observed in the craniums of mummies that which cha- 
racterizes the negro race." V'olney "saw the figure of a sphynx, an ancient 
monster of Egypt,', and (bund the features exactly those of a negro." Gre- 
goire, and many others, adhere to the opinions of Volney and Blumenbach. 
The present Copts, descendants from the ancient Egyptians, but mixed with 
the Persians and still more with the Greeks, have appeared to some, perfect 
raulattoes. Mr. Browne, a late traveller, could see in them no resemblance 
to the negro features or form, and affi-ins that their dusky brown and no 
darker color, is lound in the paintings of the tombs of Thebes, and that the 
ancient monuments, paintings and slatues. generally exhibit the visage, not . 
of negroes, but of the modern Cop's. If the same form of skull is found in 
the Egyptian mummies, as Bluraenbach asserts, and once c-ontained. as Vol- 
ney says, the profound genius of the Egyptians : and if it be a fact, as it un- 
doubtedly is, that the modern Copts are descended from the ancient Egyp- 
tians by a mixture of the blood of other nations, the presumption is strong in 
favor of the idea that the Eg%'ptians were negroes — especially when these 
facts are taken in connexion with the testimony of ancient historians. The 
argument derived from the ancient paintings, monuments, <5:c., has its weight, 
however, and especially if the testimony of travellers on this point should 
not be contradictory. 

b2 



30 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Traditions respecting Cush. 



there can be no doubt of their common origin as descendants 
of Ham, if we except those who have from time to time mi- 
grated from other portions of the earth ; nor can there be 
any reasonable doubt that the African " Cush," or " iEthio- 
pia," is the appropriate term or representative of the African 
race in general. Commentators differ, it is true, in respect 
to the countries which were originally included under the 
name ' ^Ethiopia ;' Michaelis supposes it to include African 
^Ethiopia and Southern Arabia ; Gesenius says it is to be 
confined in its application to Africa alone. Rosenmiiller 
contends that it embraces all countries whose inhabitants 
were black. There is, certainly, a striking accordance of 
complexion, language, manners, customs, &c. by which the 
inhabitants of the south and west of Africa, and all those 
who are known to be of ^^thiopian extraction, are assimi- 
lated.' 

' The complexion of Africans is caused by climate, is it 
not, Pa ?' 

* I suspect, Henry, that neither the African complexion, 
nor features, can be ascribed wholly to climate ; but must be 
referred to native variety at first, perpetuated by intermar- 
riages among the same race.' 

' Just, I suppose, as a part of the same brood being white 
and a part black, each sort may be perpetuated, as natural- 
ists tell us, by pairing together those of the same color V said 
Henry. 

Caroline here remarked, ' Mr. Bruce, the traveller, says, 
he found in Abyssinia, a tradition which had been handed 
down from time immemorial, that Cush was their father, 
and that he aclually dwelt there. The tradition purports 
that, soon after the flood, Cush, the grandson of Noah, with 
his family, still terrified with the remembrance of the flood, 
- and fearing a repetition of the same calamity, dared not re- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 31 



Obscurity of the early history of the Africans. 

main in the plains, but travelled until he came to certain 
mountains in Abyssinia, and there settled. It says, further, 
that there Cush and his people, (with indescribable labor, 
requiring arts and instruments utterly unknown to us,) 
formed themselves commodious and wonderful habitations, 
composed of solid granite and marble, which dwellings are 
now entire, and will remain so till the consummation of all 
things ; and that still avoiding the low countries, they ad- 
vanced along the different ridges and chains of mountains 
across the whole continent of Africa. The more Henry and 
I examine into this subject, however, the more difficult it 
seems to determine satisfactorily and beyond the possibility 
of contradiction, which, if either, alone, of the sons of Ham, 
is entided to the honor of being considered the principal 
progenitor of the African race. We have felt great curiosity, 
since our last conversation, to find from the books the argu- 
ments which go to show that the Africans, as the descendants 
of Canaan, are suffering their present degradation in fulfil- 
ment of the curse pronounced by Noah. Our examination 
only renders " darkness more visible." One author quotes 
from Procopius, who says, that when the Canaanites were 
driven from their country by the Israelites, they first re- 
treated into Egypt, and gradually penetrated the continent 
of Africa, where they built many cities, and spread them- 
selves over vast regions, till they reached the straits of Gib- 
raltar. This would embrace the whole northern part of 
Africa, or the Barbary States. This author says, that in the 
ancient city of Tongis, founded by them, were two great 
pillars of white stone, near a large fountain, inscribed with 
Phoenician characters, " We are people preserved by flight 
from the robber Jesus, (Joshua,) the son of Naver, who pur- 
sued us." Another author says, *' in the time of Athanasius, 
the Africans continued to say that they were descended from 



32 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Interior of Africa but little known. 



the Canaanifes, and Avlien asked their origin, they answered 
* Canani: " 

* All this, said Mr. L., ' is in corroboration of the position 
whicii I have taken. Admitting that the Canaanites mingled 
with other tribes in Egypt and all along the coast of the Me- 
diterranean to the Strait of Gibraltar, still we must look for 
the peopling of the vast interior of Africa, and the west and 
south, from another source. It is almost a matter of demon- 
stration, that the Cushites settled the greater part of Africa; 
for such is the geographical situation of the country, as you 
will see at once by the map, that the natives bordering the 
Mediterranean coast, are separated from the rest of the con- 
tinent by an almost boundless and impassable wilderness — 
the Lybian desert and the great desert of Sahara, which, to- 
gether, extend across the continent from the west of Egypt 
to the Atlantic ocean. The deserts are an ocean of sand, 
and in some places eight hundred miles in breadth. This, 
the only highway to the south and interior of Africa, was 
occupied by the Cushites, who had nothing to prevent them 
from spreading into all regions south now occupied by the 
negro race. It makes but little difference, however, from 
whicli of the grandsons of Noah the natives of this, that, or 
the other part of Africa are descended. There is intellect 
among them all. They have had their distinguished men 
in every tribe, so far as we have known any thing concern- 
ing the different tribes, and there is, and can be no impedi- 
ment, no anathema of heaven, no forfeiture of their right as 
men among men, which can justify their being torn from 
the scenes of domestic life, from country and home, to spend 
their days in bondage. There is nothing, and can be noth- 
ing to annul and defeat the decree which sounds from the 
throne of the Eternal, " ^Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her 
hands unto God." ' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 33 



Africa's ancient glory. 



* I have no doubt, Pa, that the view which you have taken 
of the subject is correct. I think it is, on the whole, of very 
little importance whether most of the blood of Cush, or Ca- 
naan, of Mizraim, or Phut, runs in the veins of the present 
population of Africa. It seems that they have been higher 
than they now are in the scale of intellectual and moral at- 
tainments, and they may rise again for aught we know. I 
have the impression, Pa, that very little of the interior of 
Africa is at present known by the people of other countries V 

*Yes, my daughter, very little, comparatively. Bruce, 
Ledyard, Park, Riley, Bowdich, Denham, Clapperton, 
Laing, the Landers, and numerous adventurers have from 
time to time added to our store of information; but still com- 
paratively litde is known. To penetrate far into the heart 
of Africa has been found so difficult and arduous a perform- 
ance, that it has been but very partially accomplished. Still, 
enough is known of Africa in respect to her ancient glory, 
and her present susceptibility of mental and moral impres- 
sions, to authorize the expectation that she may be raised to 
a high rank of moral worth, and of intellectual respectability. 
That continent which, notwithstanding her present degra- 
dation, is pronounced in history by common consent the 
birth-place and cradle of civilization and of the arts and 
sciences, cannot always, must not long be shrouded in dark- 
ness, and borne down by oppression. Seeing what Africa 
has been, and what she may yet be, our sympathies en- 
kindle towards her. It cannot be otherwise than that they 
will. 

* The Cushites, or ^Ethiopians, let me tell you, established 
the first regular police which history records. The first 
great city described in history was built by them. They 
surrounded it with walls, which, according to RoUin, were 
eighty-seven feet in thickness, three hundred and fifty feet in 



34 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Africa's ancient glory — Light from Africa on other lands. 

height, and four hundred and eighty furlongs in circumfer- 
ence. And even this stupendous work they shortly after 
eclipsed by another, of which Diodorus says, " Never did 
any city come up to the greatness and magnificence of this. 
Pyramids, obelisks, and mausolea still stand, as if in mockery 
of the very credulity of man, a memorial of that spirit of dar- 
ing enterprise and skill which made Egypt the mother of 
science, and, for a time, the mistress of the world 1" 

* It is a fact well attested by history, that ^Ethiopians 
once bare sway not only in all Africa, but over almost all 
Asia. And it is said that even two continents could not afford 
field enough for the expansion of their energies. " They 
found their way into Europe, and made the setdement on 
the western coast of Spain, called from them ' Iberian ^Ethio- 
pia.'" And, says a distinguished writer, " wherever they 
went, they were rewarded for their wisdom." 

' That very light which long since blazed before the world 
in Greece and Rome, and which now rises to its noon-day 
splendor, under the auspices of Christianity, in Europe and 
America, be it remembered, my dear children, was kindled 
on the dark shores of Africa.* AVhen I think of these thinsrs, 



* " It was during the 18ih dynasty of Egyptian kinss that the first coloniza- 
tion of Greece took place. Three steps lead us frora Athens through Rome 
to the institutions of England ; to ail and every of the advantages and bless- 
ings we possess of fully developed civilization. * * With them, civilized 
society may be said to have originated on the wreck of the cyclopean or 
pastoral community ; and during this dynasty all the most momentous events 
connected with the human race appear to have occurred. To this dynasty, 
either at its origin or during its progress, may be traced the greatest events 
that concern our social well-being at this very day— the esiablishment of 
judicial, legislative, and fiscal departments of government be assigned to 
it — and of the whole frame-work of political mechanism necessary io give 
motion, steadiness, and permanence to the social machine. * * The sub- 
lime and magnificent monuments erected bv this ancient race of monarchs 
on the plain embraced by ' the hundred-gated Thebes' attest to this day, 
their taste, their ambition, their wealth, and their power. They suggest 
ideas of the works of fabled enchanters rather than of ordinary human be- 
ings. It was on that myriad-columned plain, beneath its gorgeous archways 
and gigantic colonnades, that Champollion, in the excited language of as- 
tonishment, exclaimed, ' these porticoes must be the work of men one hun- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 35 



Africa's light reflected on Africa aeain. 



my spirit stirs within me, and I am almost impatient to see 
that light reflected back on Africa again — yes, the light of 
science combined with the glorious lieht of the srospel of 
Christ.' 



dred feet in height 1' It appeared to me, says Belzoni, like entering a city 
of giants. Rossellini's illustrations prove that imagination itself has scarcely 
invested this line of potentates with attributes of Too surprisine a character: 
Rossellini proves, that so far from making any extraordinary advance in the 
arts, contributing to the splendor or the comiort of society, we have yet to 
recover artes perdiice, (lost arts) known to the Pharaohs of the dynasty to 
which we refer. There are many effects of art which the Egyptians at this 
time produced, which we are not capable cf accomplishing. Some rest on con- 
temporary evidence, others are demonstrated by the palpable evidence 
brought before our eyes by Rossellini, 'pictorial representations taken from 
the walla of Egyptian temples.) We see the sculptors in the act of cutting 
the inscriptions on the granite, obelisk and tablets ; we see a pictorial copy 
of the chisel and tools with which this operation was performed. But our 
tools would not cut this stone with the precision of outline which the in- 
scriptions retain to this day. Setting aside the lost art of hardening copper 
implements of war. what means had the Egyptians of hardenin? their iron 
or steel implements for the purpose in quesuon ? We have at all events lost 
tfds art. The same arguments may apply to some of their cameos and in- 
taglios, with this addition, that the minute delicacy of their details could 
only be effected by means of a microscope. We could not produce them 
without its aid. The Hebrew legislator inferentially ascribes to the Esryp- 
tian chemist the art of making gold liquid and of retaining it in that sfale. 
This we have nut the power to do. The productions of the goldsmiths and 
silversmiths of Thebes are exhibited (pictorially; by Kossellini. He exhibits 
gold and silver tureens, urns, vases, <fcc., of the niost exquisitely beautit''ul 
workmanship, and tasteful as well as magnificent forms. An Egyptian side- 
board, with all its details, not excluding dishes, plates, knivesand spoons, 
near 4,000 years ago, bore striking resemblance to the sideboards of our 
modern palaces and villas. Not the slightest improvement has been made 
in the tasteful forms of their household furniture to this day. After our 
enumeration of some of the early arts, including the artes perdiUx, oi axic'xeni 
Egypt, our readers may have been tempted to exclaim, "there is nothing 
new under the sun.'"' But the exclamation would be still more justifiable 
and appropriate after a complete survey of the trades and manufactures of 
Egypt (exhibited in Rossellini's representations copied from the Egyptian 
temples.) The whole process of manufacturing silk and cotton, with all its 
details of reeling, carding, weaving, dyeing, and patterning, may be more 
especially named." — Foreign Quarterly Review. 

" Mankind instead of advancing, are just attaining tp the standard of an- 
cient African science and art. * * The fables indeed are turned ; the 
African has fallen from his peerless elevation. He now withers under the 
shadow and the strong arm of the white man : but let him be transplant- 
ed — let him be relumed to his native home, bearing back with him the de- 
rived arts, science and civilization of his ancestors, and once more he shall 
regain — perhaps surpass his ancient glory." — Cincinnati Jour. 4' Luminary. 



36 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Great reverses often in the history of nations. 



CONVERSATION IV. 

" Cruel as death, insatiate as the grave, 

False as the winds that round his vessel blow, 

Remorseless as the gulf that yawns below. 

Is he who toils upon the wafting flood, 

A Christian broker in the trade of blood." — Montgomery. 

' I AM glad, Pa,' said Caroline to her father, who had given 
intimation of his disposition to take up the subject again after 
tea, and who had just risen from the table and seated himself 
in his chair by the fire, ' that we may again claim a little of 
your time, and tax your kindness to tell us more of Africa. 
I shall certainly think more of that much injured quarter of 
the globe for the time to come, and shall abhor slavery more 
than ever. What strange reverses there are in the history 
of man ! We should never suppose from any thing that is 
seen in Africa now, that she was ever distinguished for any 
thing but ignorance, barbarism, and brutality,' 

* There is much, my daughter, to be seen in Africa even 
now, of her former greatness. There is yet to be found 
honor, bravery, intellect, genius, learning, and rank.* We 
have had proof of this from among those who, as victims of 
our cupidity, have been transported as slaves to this boasted 
land of freedom. Amongst them have been torn away,- in 
some instances, the Princes of Africa, and others of her dis- 
tinguished ones. They came oppressed, their noble spirits 
broken down, the whole man subdued by the extinction of 
the last ray of hope, severed from all on earth most dear, and 
stepped upon these shores loaded with chains, and, it may 

* " We cannot but admire the reasoning and humanity of those, who, after 
tearing the African from his native soil, and dooming him to perpetual la- 
bor, complain that his understanding shows no signs of improvement, and 
that his temper and disposition are incorrigibly perverse, faithless, and trea- 
cherous."— ivees. 



PLEA FOR AFlllCA. 3lf 

Much yet to admire in Africa. — Africa's distinguished ones. 

be, bleeding with stripes ; and they were held in this " land 
of the free," in bondage — among a people of strange tongue 
' — placed on a level with the most degraded of the miserable 
— tasked — and it is possible, for it is often asserted, lashed 
to quicken them in their heartless toil : but notwithstanding 
all, they have discovered still, under all these almost insup- 
portable causes of depression, the lineaments of a noble 
spirit, a lofty mind ! Although they came from a country 
where despotism and paganism exert all their influence to 
sink the human character, these men have held the pen of a 
ready scribe, and spoken with the tongue of the eloquent — 
writing the Arabic, and the language of their respective 
tribes, with facility and elegance, and uttering the same ap- 
parently with the fluency and ease of the distinguished 
among our own orators.' 

Henry here mentioned that he had ' lately read an account 
of one such African, called Prince Moro. I saw it,' said 
he, ' in an old number of a file of the Episcopal, or Philadel* 
phia Recorder. Annexed were some remarks of the late 
Rev. Dr. Bedell, of that city, who also certified to the truth 
of the article, he having known Prince and often conversed 
with him at the south/ 

Mr. L. recollected the case of Prince Moro very well ; and 
was able at once to refer to a number of the Christian Advo- 
cate, where was found recorded, on the authority of a gen- 
tleman of Fayetteville, North Carolina, at which place Prince 
resided, the following outlines of his history : 

" About the year 1808, a South Carolina planter purchas- 
ed a gang of slaves, among whom was a man of a slender 
frame and delicate constitution, who was not able to labor in 
the field, or had not the disposition to do so. His health 
failing, he was considered of no value, and disregarded. At 
length he strolled off, and Avandering from plantation to 



38 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Prince Moro. 



plantation, reached Fayetteville, was taken up as a runaway, 
and put in jail, where he remained some time. As no one 
claimed him, and he appeared of no value, the jail was 
thrown open that he might run away ; but he had no dispo- 
sition to make his escape. The boys amused themselves 
with his good-natured, playful behavior, and fitted up a tem- 
porary desk, made of a flour barrel, on which he wrote in a 
masterly hand, writing from right to left, in what was, to 
them, an unknown language. He was also noticed by some 
gentlemen of the place ; but his keeper grew tired of so use- 
less a charge, and he was publicly sold for his jail dues. His 
purchaser, a gentleman living about thirty miles from Fay- 
etteville, finding him rather of a slender make, took him into 
his family as a house servant. Here he soon became a fa- 
vorite of the inmates of the house. His good conduct in a 
short time put him in possession of all his master's stores, 
and he gradually acquired a knowledge of the English lan- 
guage. His master being a pious man, he was instructed in 
the principles of the Christian religion, which he received 
with great pleasure ; and he seemed to see beauties in the 
plan of the gospel, which had never appeared to him in the 
Koran ; for he had been reared and instructed in the Maho- 
medam religion, and it was found that the scraps of writing 
from his pen were mostly passages from the Koran. It 
would seem that he was a prince in his own country, which 
must have been far in the interior of Africa — perhaps Tom- 
buctoo or its neighborhood. At all events, his intercourse 
with the Arabs had enabled him to write and to speak their 
language with the most perfect ease. 

" Some of the Africans pretend to say he was what they 
call a * pray- God to the king,' by which may be understood, 
a priest or learned man, who ofi'ers up prayers for the king 
of his nation, and is of his household. His dignified deport- 
ment showed him to be of a superior cast — his humility, that 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 39 



Prince Moro. 



of a peaceful subject, not a despot. In his person he is well 
formed, of a middle size, small hands and feet, and erect in 
his deportment. His complexion and hair, as well as the 
form of the head, are distinctly of the African character. 
Some years since, he united himself to the Presbyterian 
church in Fayetteville, of which he continues an orderly and 
respectable member. A gentleman who felt a strong interest 
for the " good Prince Moro," as he is called, sent to the 
British Bible Society, and procured for him an Arabic Bible ; 
so that he now reads the Scriptures in his native language, 
and blesses Him who has caused good to come out of evil, 
by making him a slave." 

' Pa, has Prince since returned to his native land V 

* I suspect not, Caroline. His good master offered to send 
him to his native land, his home, and his friends ; but he said, 
''* No, — this is my home, and here are my friends, and here 
is my Bible ; I enjoy all I want in this world. If I should 
return to my native land, the fortune of war might transport 
me to a country where I should be deprived of the greatest 
of all blessings, that of worshipping the true and living God, 
and his Son Jesus Christ, whom to worship and serve is 
eternal life."" 

* Pa,' said Caroline, with eyes glistening in moisture, * the 
gentleman who bought Prince, and used him so kindly, and 
instructed him, must have felt amply rewarded and greatly 
happy to find this poor Mahomedan become an humble fol- 
lower of the Lord Jesus ? And it would seem almost as if 
Cowper had written expressly to suit the case of Prince, 
speaking the very feeling of his heart, and almost his very 
words, in those lines, 

" My dear deliverer out of hopeless night, 
Whose bounty bought me but to give me light ; 



40 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Prince Abduhl Rahahman. 

I was a bondman on my native plain, 

Sin forged, and ignorance made fast the chain; 

Thy lips have shed instruction as the dew. 

Taught me what path to shun, and what pursue ; 

Farewell ray former joys! I sigh no more 

For Africa's once loved, benighted shore; 

Serving a benefactor, I am free, 

At my best home, if not exiled from thee !" 

Henry said, ' Dr. Bedell stated that Prince had been edu- 
cated at Tombuctoo, and that he could write Arabic in a 
most beautiful manner. He composed a history of his own 
life, said Dr. B,. which was sent to some of our literary insti- 
tutions. Prince belonged to the Foiilah tribe.^ 

' A more interesting case still,' said ]Mr. L., ' is that of the 
Moorish Prince, Abduhl Eahahmax, who was sent out to 
Liberia, a few years since, by the American Colonization 
Society, but who died soon after his arrival in Africa. He 
was a slave in this country nearly forty years, and then ob- 
tained his freedom. He was born in the city of Tombuctoo, 
in 1762. His uncle was a king. His father was governor 
of Footah Jallo for a time, and then on the colony becoming 
independent, was king of Footah Jallo. Prince, after com- 
pleting his education, entered his father's army, soon rose to 
distinction, was appointed to the command of an army, and 
marched against the Hebohs, a tribe at the north of Footah 
.Jallo. He entered their country to punish them for destroy- 
ing vessels that came to the coast, and for preventing the 
trade. Having put the Hebohs to flight, and set their towns 
on fire, he commenced his retreat; the Hebohs rallied, how- 
ever, and by a circuitous route and rapid marches, intercept- 
ed him, and ambushed themselves in a narrow defile of a 
mountain through which Prince was to pass. The conse- 
quence was, that Prince and a part of his army were made 
prisoners, and sold to the Mandingoes, and finally sold by 
them to a slave ship, on the coast. Prince was brought to 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 41 



Abduhl's Father and Dr. Cox. 



this country, and sold to a gentleman residing at Natchez, 
Mississippi. During the whole time of his bondage, Prince 
was never known to be intoxicated or guilty of a falsehood, 
or of a dishonest or mean action. He submitted to his fate 
without a murmur, and was an industrious and faithful ser- 
vant, intelligent, modest and obliging to all. His manners 
are represented as not only prepossessing, but dignified. 
Though born and raised in affluence, and now reduced to 
abject servitude, he bore his trials all with fortitude, and 
carried still 

" A noble mein." 

The Story of his life, which is eventful and interesting, we 
have from his own mouth, corroborated by a train of circum- 
stances and events which, in their order and developement, 
are truly remarkable. 

' Dr. Cox, late a distinguished physician in Natchez, was 
in his early days, a surgeon on board a ship which visited 
the coast of Africa. Dr. Cox, in one of his excursions on 
shore, got lost and the ship sailed and left him. In his 
wanderings, Dr. C. came to Footah Jallo. The people saw 
him, and ran and told the king of the " white man." The 
king ordered Dr. C. to be brought to him. Prince accompa- 
nied the Dr. to his father's house, where he was hospitably 
treated, and during a long and painful sickness, was attended 
with the utmost kindness and humanity. After his recovery 
from sickness. Dr. C. was conveyed by his hospitable host 
and attendants, to the sea-shore, where he found a ship and 
returned to this countr}*. Prince had been sixteen years a 
slave in this country when Dr. Cox removed to Natchez, 
and he and Prince met and recognized each other in the 
streets of that city. 

* Prince's account of Dr. Cox's residence in his father's 
family, and of his interview with Dr. Cox on their first 
c2 



42 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Prince and Dr. Cox. — Dr. Cox endeavors to free Prince. 

meeting in Natchez, is deeply affecting. Prince says, that 
^vhen Dr. Cox was brought to his father, " he was asked 
where he was going? The Dr. said he did not know where 
to go — he was lost — the ship had left him — and he had a 
bad sore leg, which he had wounded in travelling. My 
father told him he had better go no further, but stay with him, 
and he would get a woman to cure his leg. It was soon 
cured. My father told him to stay as long as he chose. 
He remained six months. One day my father asked him if 
he wished to go to his own country. He said yes. My 
father said, what makes you desire to go back, you are treat- 
ed well here ? He answered, that his father and mother 
would be anxious when the vessel • returned without him, 
thinking he might be dead. JMy father told him, ' whenever 
you wish to go, I will send a guard to accompany you to the 
ship.' Then lit^teen men were sent with him by ray father 
for a guard, and he gave the Dr. gold to pay his passage 
home. My father told the guard that if a vessel was there, 
they must leave the Dr. but must not go on board the ship ; 
and if there was no vessel, they must bring the Dr. back. 
They waited some time, and then found the same vessel in 
which he came, and lie went on board." 

' Prince continues, " After that, I was taken prisoner, and 
sent to Natchez. When I had been there sixteen years. 
Dr. Cox removed to Natchez, and one day I met him in the 
street. I said to a man who came with me from Africa, 
' Sambo, that man rides like a white man I saw in my countrv. 
See, when he rides by ; if he open but one eye, that is the 
same man.' When he came up, hating to stop him without 
reason, I said, 'Master, do you want to buy some potatoes?' 
While he looked at the potatoes I knew him, but he did not 
know me. He said, ' Boy, where did you come from?' I 
said ' from Col. F's.' He said ' Col. F. did noiraise you?' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 43 

Prince's account of his capture. 

• 

Then he said, 'you came from Teembo?' I answered, 'yes.' 
He said, ' your name is Abduhl Rahahraan?' Then spring- 
ing from his horse he embraced me, and inquired how I 
came to this country-. Then he said, ' dash down your 
potatoes and come to my house.' He rode quick, and called 
a negro woman to take the potatoes from my head. Then 
he sent for Gov. W. to come and see me. When Gov. W. 
came. Dr. Cox said, 'I have been to this man's father's 
house, and they treated me as kindly as my own parents.* 
The next morning he tried to purchase me, but my master 
was unwilling to sell me. He offered large sums for me, 
but they were refused. Then he said to master, ' If you 
will not part with him, use him well.' After that, Dr. Cox 
died, and his son offered a great price for me." 

' Prince's own account of his capture is also interesting. 
"When returning from the country of the Hebohs, it seems, 
he was unapprehensive of any enemy being near, and he 
says, " We dismounted and led our horses until we were 
half way up the mountain. Then they Ured upon us. We 
saw the smoke, we heard the guns, and saw the people drop 
down. I told every one to run until we reached the top of 
the hill, then to wait for each other until all came there and 
we would fight them. They followed us, and we ran and 
fought. I saw that this would not do. I told every one to run 
who wished to do so. I said, ' I will not run for an dfrican.'' 
I got down from my horse, and set down. One came be- 
hind and shot me in the shoulder. One came before and 
pointed his gun to shoot me, but seeing my clothes orna- 
mented with gold, he cried out, 'That the King.' When 
they came to me, I had a sword under me, but they did not 
see it. The first one that came, I sprang forward and killed. 
They knocked me down with a gun and I fainted. They 
carried me to a pond of water and dipped me in. After I 



44 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Remains of Africa's former glory. 



came to myself, they bound me, and then pulled off my 
shoes and made me go on barefoot one hundred miles, and 
led my horse before me. As soon as my people got home, 
my father raised a troop, and came after me ; and as soon as 
the Hebohs knew that he was coming, they carried me into 
the wilderness. My father came and burnt their country. 
They carried me to the Mandingo country, on the Gambia, 
and sold me, with fifty others, to an English ship. They 
took me to the Island of Dominica; after that I was taken to 
New Orleans, then to Natchez." 

' Prince was educated a Mohamedan, but was friendly 
disposed to the Christian religion, admiring the precepts of 
the Bible, but asserting that Christians do not follow them! 

' After the liberation of Prince, whilst preparing for his 
return to Africa, he visited Hartford, Connecticut, and there 
found an aged African who had been a soldier in the army 
of his father ! He, whose present name was Sterhng, cor- 
roborated many particulars which I have now related con- 
cerning Prince,' 



CONVERSATION V. 

" Breathes there the man, with soul so dead 
Who never to himself hatii said, 

This is my own, my native land ! 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned. 
As home his footsteps he hath turned?" — Scott. 

* Well, Henry, where is Caroline? — 0, here she comes. 
Well, Caroline, you are not wearied, I hope, with the sub- 
ject of Africa?' 

' Pa, indeed I am not. I am always glad to see the hour 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 45 

Africa destined to rise. — Travellers in Africa. 

return when we may resume the subject. The case of 
Prince Abduhl Rahahman, which you mentioned to us last 
evening, was truly interesting. It seems greatly desirable 
tliat he should have lived a few years after his return to his 
native land ; although, at his time of life, it was hardly to be 
expected by him or his friends that he could live long in 
any part of the world.' 

' Yes : it appeared greatly desirable that he should live. 
The ways of Providence, however, although mysterious, 
are wise. It is said that Prince, on his return to Africa, re- 
turned also to the Mahomedan faith. If so, he might not 
have essentially aided the progress of the christianization of 
Africa, had his life been spared.' 

' It seems to me, Pa, that the continent of Africa presents 
to the mind a singular combination of character, taking into 
view her w^hole history — that is, the little that we know of 
it?' 

* It certainly does : she has been the very focus of litera- 
ture and refinement, and also has afforded the very M^orst 
specimens of barbarism. We see there the greatest ignor- 
ance and debasement, and yet even now find evidence also 
of something like attention to learning, and hear from travel- 
lers of an interior where are magnificent cities, and the splen- 
dors of wealth and power. The history of Africa's better 
days, and the present remains of her former glory, encour- 
age the hope that she may again recover her elevation, not- 
withstanding all that seems most discouraging. It has been 
said that to the burning history of Ancient Greece, more 
than to any other cause, Modern Greece is indebted for any 
spirit of liberty and improvement with which she may, of 
late years, have appeared inspired. Africa may yet find 
motive to action, in the thought of wha.t she has been, whilst 



46 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Truth and fiction united in travels. 

her past history may be the means of enlisting the sympa- 
thies of the world in her behalf. There is enough, certainly, 
in her history, to throw suspicion on the frequent charge of 
natural inferiority of her children.* 

* Many instances may be cited of genius and elevated character among 
the African race, sufficient at least to redeem them from the unkind imputa- 
tions by which their perpetual servitude is sometimes justified. To name 
but a few : J. E. J. Capitein, born in Africa, and bought by a slave-holder, 
on the river St. Andre, was carried to Holland, where he acquired a know- 
ledge of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaidaic. He studied Theology at the 
University of Leyden, took his degree, was ordained at Amsterdam, and 
went nut as a missionary to Guinea in 1742. He was the author of several 
published sermons, poems, and dissertations. His " Dissertatio de Servitute 
Libertati Christianse non contraria" went through four editions. Ignatius 
Sancho, and Gustavus Vasa, the former born on board a slave-ship on its 
passage from Guinea to the West Indies, and the latter in the kingdom of 
Benin, distinguished themselves by their literature. Sancho died in England 
in 1780. Letters of his were published in 2 vols, octavo, and were well re- 
C€ived by the public. Vasa obtained his freedom when about 33 years of 
age, published in London his memoirs, also a poem, which were read with 
great interest, and the former several times reprinted. In 1789, he presented 
to Parliament a petition for the suppression of the slave-trade. The son of 
Vasa was assistant librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, and Secretary to the Com- 
mittee for vaccination. He is represented as versed in bibliography. A. W. 
Aaio, born in Guinea, was brought to this country when young, took the 
degree of Doctor in Philosophy at the University of VVittemberg, in 1734. 
He was skilled in Latin and Greek ; delivered lectures on philosophy ; in 
1744 ; supported a thesis at Wittemberg, and published a dissertation " on the 
absence of sensation in the soul, and its presence in the human body;" was 
appointed Professor, and the same year supported a thesis " on the distinction 
which ought to be made between the operations of mind and those of sense." 
He al.so distinguished himself in Mathematics. In an account of his life, 
published by the academic council, his integrity, talents, industry, and 
erudition, are very highly commended. Francis Williams, a negro, 
born in Jamaica, was educated in the University of Cambridge in England ; 
he opened a school in Jamaica for instruction in Latin and Mathematics, and 
wrote many pieces in Latin verse which discovered talents of good order. 
Job Ben Solomon, son of the king of Bunda, on the Gambia, was taken in 
1730, and sold in Maryland. " He aftervi^ards found his way to England, 
where his talents, dignified air, and amenity of character procured him 
friends, and among the rest Sir Hans Sloane, for whom he translated several 
Arabic manuscripts. After being received with distinction at the court of 
St. James, he was sent back to Africa." His letters which he afterwards 
wrote to his friends in England and America were published and read with 
interest. He is said to have been able to repeat the Koran from memory. 
Thomas Fuller, a native African, resident for some time near Alexandria, 
District of Columbia, although unable to read or write, was an extraordinary 
example of quickness in reckoning. Being asked in company, for the pur- 
pose of trying his powers, how many seconds a person had lived who was 70 
years, seven months, and seven days old, he answered correctly in a minute 
and a half. On reckoning it up after him, a different result was obtained by 
the company. " Have you not forgotten the leap years ?" said the negro. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 47 

Africans not naturally indolent. 

' Douglass, in his work on missions, says, " There are 
three agents which will soon be entwined with the issues of 
all human affairs,, and are the very hinges on which the moral 
world will speedily turn. The three things in which the 
present age excels the ancients, are the Inductive Philoso- 
phy, Printing, and Universal Education." When these 
powers come to bear upon Africa, as soon they will with 
energy, we shall see — at least, the living will see in Africa 
a new world.' 

' I wonder. Pa, what degree of credit we are to give to the 
accounts of travellers in Africa. If they have not indulged 

These they had forgotten ; the omission being supplied, the answer of the 
negro was found to be right. This account was given by Dr. Rush, when 
Fuller was 70 years old. James Derham was once " a slave in Piiiladelphia. 
In 1788, at the age of twenty-one, he became the most distinguished physi- 
cian in New Orleans. ' I conversed with him on medicine,' says Dr. Rush, 
'and found him very learned ; I thought I could give him information con- 
cerning the treatment of diseases, but I learned more from him than he could 
expect from me.' " Boerhaave and De Haen have given strong testimony to 
the medical skill of not a few blacks. Several are mentioned as having 
been very dexterous surgeons. " Joseph Rachel, a free negro of Barba- 
does, was another Howard. Having become rich by commerce, he devoted 
all his property to charitable uses, and spent much of his time in visiting 
prisons to relieve and reclaim the wretched tenants. He died in 1758." 
"Jasmin Thoumazeav was born in Africa. Having obtained his freedom in 
St Domingo, in 1756 ; he established a hospital at the (Jape for poor negroes 
and raulattoes, and during more than forty years, assisted by his wife, devot- 
ed his time and fortune to their comfort." " Hannibal, an African negro, 
rose to the rank of Lt. Genera! and Director of artillery under Peter the Great 
of Russia. His son was also a Lt. General in the Russian corps of artillery." 
Benjamin Bannakkr, a negro of Maryland, applied himself to Astronomy 
with so much success, that he published almanacs in Philadelphia for the 
years 1794 and 1795." Blumenbach, from whom the preceding instances 
are chiefly taken, possessed a library comfwsed entirely of works written by 
negroes. He says, "There is not a single department of taste or science in 
which these people have not been distinguished." Dr. Blumenbach is the 
author of the most able and scientific treatise on the varieties of the human 
species, and was better qualified than any other person to decide upon their 
constitutional differences. Prof B. " sarcastically observes, that entire and 
large provinces of Europe might be named, in which it would be difficult to 
meet with such good writers, poets, philosophers, and correspondents of the 
French academy ; and, on the other hand, that there is no savage people, 
which have distinguished themselves by such examples of perfectibility and 
even capacity for scientific cultivation; and consequently that none can ap- 
proach more nearly to the polished nations of the p;lobe, than the negro." — 
See Blumenbach' s Beytrdge zur Nctlurgeschichte — Rees' JEncyclo. — and Grif- 
fin's Flea. 



48 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Causes of indolence, and incentives to vice. 

the imagination very freely, we all have a great deal to learn 
yet respecting Africa's present state V 

' I suspect my daughter has been reading a little more re- 
specting this people of " obtuse intellect,''^ since we turned 
our thoughts in these conversations to the subject?' 

' I have. I have been looking over such works as I can 
find. Denham and Clapperton's Expedition I think is very 
interesting. I have also been looking into Bruce's Travels, 
and Riley and Adams.' 

* In answer to your question — all recent discoveries seem 
to vindicate the veracity of Bruce, although, while he lived, 
it was his fate to be doubted, contradicted, and even ridiculed 
for a narrative which is now thought to be true. Riley and 
Adams are doubtless entitled to some credit ; but may not, 
in all respects, be considered so good authority as Denham 
and Clapperton. The travels of Barrow, La Vaillant, and 
Mungo Park, you will also find full of interest. Africa has 
been the scene of much fiction in times past ; the unexplored 
region of all that is wonderful. The color of her inhabitants 
— her vast and impenetrable deserts — and the fate of those 
who attempted to explore her interior, have served at the 
same time to inflame the curiosity and quicken the imagina- 
tion. Hence, vague reports of paradisaical beauty and won- 
derful fertility ; oases, in oceans of sand, the inaccessible 
abodes of the blest ; and rumors of supernatural wonders 
seen by travellers more fortunate than others ; all which are 
to be regarded as mere fiction. The accounts of later travel- 
lers have drawn upon the imagination less, and are to be 
considered as authentic. We have, without doubt, very im- 
perfect ideas as yet, of the amount of Africa's population, 
her resources, or her comparative mental energy. That 
whole continent will yet, and that soon, if I mistake not, be- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 49 



Africans not naturally indolent. 



come the fruitful source of amazing interest, and the scene of 
wonderful developments.' 

* From all that can be gathered from the reports of tra- 
vellers and from our own observation, do you not think, Sir, 
that we are justified in the inference that the Africans are 
naturally an extremely indolent race V 

' This accusation has been preferred against them, and 
probably with greater truth than usually pertains to asser- 
tions of those who would deprive the race of every good 
quality, mental or social ; but even this charge is, I suspect, 
somewhat exaggerated. All people, of every nation and 
color, are indolent, except as stimulated to labor, activity 
and enterprise, by the spirit of property, utility, or pleasure : 
"The best of men have ever lov'd repose." 

* The negroes of Senegal are remarkably industrious. 
Since the suppression of slavery there, their villages are 
rebuilt, and repeopled, and there is the show of a com- 
mendable spirit of enterprise. Unmolested in their posses- 
sions and enjoyments, they have motive to industry. The 
Abbe Gregoire says of the inhabitants of Axiaim, on the 
Gold Coast, and also of those of the country of Boulam, 
that " they are industrious." " Those of the country of 
Jago," he adds, are " celebrated for an activity which en- 
riches their country. Those of Cabomonte and of Fido are 
indefatigable cultivators ; economical of their soil, they 
scarcely leave a foot-path to form a communication between 
the different possessions. They reap one day, and the next 
day sow the earth." 

* In many parts of Africa there is such luxuriant abund- 
ance of all that is necessary to the sustenance and comfort 
of its inhabitants, that indolence follows as a matter of course. 
Besides, tliey are often exposed to continual inroads from 
their enemies ; and where nothing is certain, save their con- 



50 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Causes of indolence, and incentives to vice. 



stant liability to surprise, capture, or death, it may naturally 
be expected that the people will be indolent, for there is no 
incentive to effort. Many of those we see in our own coun- 
try, whether natives of Africa, or descendants of Africans, 
have acquired indolent habits through the force of circum- 
stances ; but nothing, surely, is to be inferred from this fact 
to the disparagement of Africans more favorably situated : 

" Quis enim virtutem amplectitur ipsam 
Preraia si tollas V 

' It has sometimes been supposed that this portion of the 
human race are also more inclined to vicious habits gene- 
rally and unruly passions than others. If this were true, it 
might groAv out of the circumstances in which they are 
placed. Ignorance and crime are nearly allied. And were 
there no other cause, habits of indolence would beget other 
evils. The poet has shown some knowledge of human na- 
ture and also of sound philosophy, who said, 

" O mortal man, who livest here by toil, 

Do not complain of this thy hard estate : 

That, like an emmet, thou must ever moil, 

Is a sad sentence of an ancient date ; 

And, certes, there is for it reason great ; 

For, though sometimes it makes thee weep and wail. 

And curse thy star, and early drudge and late; 

Withouten that would come an heavier bale. 

Loose life, unruly passions, and diseases pale/' ' 

' The Africans are not only generally considered consti- 
tutionally indolent, but cowardly, are they not, Pa V 

' The Portuguese historian, Borros, says that negroes 
are, in his opinion, preferable to Swiss soldiers, whose re- 
putation for bravery has generally stood high. In 1703, the 
blacks took arms for the defence of Guadaloupe, and " were 
more useful than all the rest of the French troops." At the 
same time, they bravely defended Martinico against the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 51 



African braverj'. — Henry Diaz. 



English. The honorable conduct of the negroes at the 
siege of Savannah, and at the taking of Pensacola, is well 
known. During the Revolution, when incorporated with 
the French troops, they shared their danger and their glor}". 
' You probably recollect the mention of Henry Diaz, who 
is extolled in all the histories of Brazil : he was a negro, 
and once a slave. He became colonel of a regiment of sol- 
diers of his own color. He was talented, sagacious, and 
brave. In battle, struggling against vast superiority of num- 
bers, and perceiving that some of his soldiers were discour- 
aged and began to give way, he thrust himself into their 
midst, and crying out, *' Are these the brave companions of 
Henry Diaz .?" his speech and example inspired them anew 
with courage, and the enemy, who supposed themselves vic- 
torious, were attacked with aa impetuosity which forced 
them to retreat and finally to capitulate. *' In 1745, in the 
midst of his exploits, this brave man had his left hand 
wounded by a ball ; and in order to spare the delay of dress- 
ing, he caused it to be amputated, saying that edioh finger of 
his right hand was worth a left hand in combat." ' 

' I suppose. Sir, that in other moral qualities, they may 
not be inferior, naturally, to other people ; but we have been 
so much accustomed to think disparagingly of Africans, that 
the force of habit is still strong notwithstanding any light 
which is shed upon the understanding. I think, however, 
that I am fast rising above prejudice.' 

' Africans are capable, I doubt not, of every noble trait of 
character ; and those qualities which are the greatest orna- 
ment to humanity, are often exhibited by them to our admi- 
ration. You recollect the anecdote which !Mr. Newton tells 
of a negro whom he, one day, accused of imposture and in- 
justice? The negro, with wounded pride, replied, "Do 
vou take me for a ivhite man ?'' Provart, in his history of 



52 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Moral trails. 



Loango, asserts that if the negroes who inhabit the coasts, 
and associate with white men, are inclined to fraud and other 
vices, those who have not had intercourse with the whites? 
are humane, obUging, and hospitable. Wadstrom, who 
boasts of their friendship, thinks their sensibility more mild 
and affecting than that of the whites. Captain AVilson, who 
lived among them, speaks highly of their constancy and 
friendship ; they shed tears at his departure. Goldberry in- 
veighs against the presumption with which Europeans de- 
spise and calumniate nations, improperly called savage, 
among v/hom we find men of probity, models of filial, con- 
jugal and paternal affection, who know all the energies and 
refinements of virtue ; among whom sentimental impressions 
are more deep, because they observe, more than we, the 
dictates of nature, and know how to sacrifice personal in- 
terests to the ties of friendship. Robin speaks of a slave 'of 
Martinico, who, having gained money sufficient to purchase 
his own freedom, purchased with it his mother's. Mungo 
Park says, the most horrible outrage that can be committed 
against a negro, is to curse his father or his mother, or to 
speak of either with contempt. " Strike me," said a slave 
to his master, "but curse not my mother I" Park speaks 
of a negress having lost her son, and finding consolation in 
the fact that he had never told a lie. Cassaux relates, that a 
negro, seeing a white man abuse his father, said, " Carry 
away the child of this monster, that it may not learn to imi- 
tate his conduct." Stedman says, " Several Maroons" had 
been condemned to the gallows : one had the offer of his 
life, on condition of his becoming the executioner of his 
fellows ; but he refused. The master ordered one of his 
negroes to perform the office. " Wait," said he, "until I 
get ready." He then went into the house, took a hatchet, 
and cut off his hand ; when, returning, he said to his 
master, " Order me to be the executioner of my comrade I" 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



53 



Louis Desrouleaux. 



Captain Sudbury, of the English navy, lately received a 
consignment of gold dust, valued at ^813,000, ("over $60,000,) 
from the slave coast of Africa, as a present from one of the 
native princes, whom he had freed from slavery among a 
whole cargo of slaves which he had captured. 

' There is an interesting anecdote of Louis Desrouleaux, 
which I will here repeat. Desrouleaux was once a slave. 
His master, who was possessed of great riches, had been 
engaged in the slave trade. He became poor and returned 
from France to St. Domingo, where his slave, Desrouleaux, 
had become free, and had himself acquired a fortune. Pin- 
sum, the master, was scarcely recognized now, by those 
who professed for him great friendship when he was rich. 
Desrouleaux heard of his old master's misfortunes, hastened 
to find him, supplied him with honorable lodging and board, 
and then proposed to him that he would be most happy 
living in France where his feelings would not be mortified 
by the sight of ungrateful men. On Pinsum replying, * I 
cannot find subsistejice in France,' Desrouleaux asked, if an 
annual income of fifteen thousand francs would suffice? — 
The Frenchman wept with joy — the negro signed the con- 
tract, and the pension was regularly paid.* 

' Before we close this conversation, I must just refer to 

*" The travels of Barrow, Le Vaillant, and Park, abound with anecdotes 
honorable to the moral character of the Africans, and proving that they 
betray no deficiency in the amiable qualities of the heart. One of these 
gives us an interesting portrait of the chief of a tribe : ' His countenance 
was strongly marked with the habit of reflection. Vigorous in his mental, 
and amiable in the personal qualities, Gaika was at once the friend and 
ruler of a happy people, who universally pronounced his name with trans- 
port, and blessed his abode as the seat of felicity.' Many highly polished 
European kings would appear to little advantage by the side of this savage. 
We see no reason to doubt that the negroes, taken altogether, are not inferi- 
or to any variety of the human race in natural goodness of heart. It is con- 
sonant to our experience of mankind in general, that the latter quality 
should be deadened, or completely extinguished in the slave-ship or the 
plantation." — Rees' Encyclo. 

It is doubtful whether any other people would exhibit, in the same cir- 
cumstances, greater native goodness of heart than the negro. 

d2 



54 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The Solima camp. 



one specimen of the interior of Africa, their splendor, arts, 
industry, genius, regard for bravery, &;c. which has been 
furnished by Lieut. Laing, of the Br. Navy, who, under 
instructions from the Governor of Sierra Leone, went on a 
mission far in the interior. It relates to his visit to the Chief 
of the Solimas, King Yaradee. 

' After visiting different chiefs by whom he was well re- 
ceived, Lieut. Laing came to a place called Koukundi, a vil- 
lage of farms belonging to the people of Melicouri. Here 
he remained during the night, and early in the morning en- 
tered the town itself, which was walled round, with port holes 
for musketry, and was impregnable. The country in the 
neighborhood was abundantly productive, and in a high 
state of cultivation ; corn, barley, rice, cassada, and cotton 
growing in great profusion. Lt. L. says he passed several 
hundred acres of such cultivation. The next day he pro- 
ceeded to the camp, about eight miles distant north, and 
which was about three hours south of Fouricaria. Immedi- 
ately on his approach, the drums and other warlike instru- 
ments were in motion, and soon about 12,000 people were 
assembled in a large square, in the centre of the savannah on 
which an immense army was encamped, and Lt. L. com- 
municated the object of his visit, which was to explain the 
footing on which the Colony of Sierra Leone wished to 
stand with the neighboring nations. King Yaradee, who 
is one of the most warlike of the African monarchs, he found 
surrounded by his brave chiefs, under an ample tent, seated 
upon the skin of a lion. The king kindly invited Lt. L. to 
take a seat by his side. The following song impromptu, ia 
their own language, was then sung by a minstrel : 



" A stranger has come to Yaradee's camp 
Whose bosom is soft and is fair ; 

He sits by the valiant Yaradee's sid(= 
And none but the valiant sit iheu. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 55 

Solima Song. 

Like the furious lion Yaradee comes 

And hurls the terrors of war; 
His enemies see him, and, panic-struck, flee 

To the woods and the deserts afar. 

By the side of this hero, so valiant and brave. 

Sits the stranger whose skin is so fair ; 
He lives on the sea, where he wanders at will, 

And he knows neither sorrow nor care. 

Then look at the stranger before he departs ; 

Brave Yaradee, touch his soft hair ; 
The Ian nole of my harp swells to Yaradee's praise. 

While I gaze on the stranger so fair." 

' The Solimas are great singers. The great deeds of the 
Solima chiefs, as well as the history of their wars, are hand- 
ed down to posterity by means of Jelle or singing-men, in 
songs composed much after the manner of Ossian.' 

' Those lines are very sweet,' said H., ' and the scene must 
have been very imposing.' 

'The Africans are sweet singers,' said C; 'but I ac- 
knowledge the time has been when I thought them capable 
of sound only- — not of sentiment.' 



56 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Scripture testiraonj' to African learning. 



CONVERSATION VI. 

" From Guinea's coast pursue the lessening sail. 

And catch the sounds that sadden every gale. 

Tell, if though canst, the sum of sorrows there ; 

Mark the iix'd gaze, the wild and phrenzied glare. 

The racks of thought, and freezings of despair I 

But pause not there — beyond the western wave, 

Go see the captive bartered as a slave! 

Crush'd till his high, heroic spirit bleeds, 

And from his nerveless frame indignantly recedes." — Rogers. 

* I HAVE been thinking, Pa,' said Caroline, ' that it is a 
fact somewhat remarkable, that perhaps the first intimation 
"which we find in ancient history of greatlearning among any 
people, is that which in Mosaic history points us to Africa. 
Moses, you know, it is said, was skilled in all the wisdom 
of the Egyptians !' 

* You have, indeed, referred to a striking and decisive evi- 
dence of the greatness of xVfrican attainments at a very early 
period. We have conclusive and irresistible proof of their 
quondam greatness also in their works of art, many of which, 
such as pyramids, obelisks, and mausolea, still stand, as if 
in mockery of the very credulity of a man, a memorial of 
their spirit and skill. True, many will say, however, 
that the ancient Egyptians were a very " dififerent race of 
beings from those tribes which have supplied the world with 
slaves ;" but admit that they were m some respects different, 
the reference to them is sufficient to invalidate the sweeping 
declarations of many in regard to Africans. There are, 
hov,'ever, proofs of former greatness and of present suscep- 
tibility of great improvement, and of high advances in genius 
and learning, among other portions of the African race. And 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 57 



African manuscripts — Christian tribes — Large cities. 

Mr. Thompson, late Governor of Sierra Leone, in a letter 
lo a distinguished gentleman of [Massachusetts, published 
some time since, says, that he brought from Africa manu- 
scripts sufficient to convince him that the interior of that 
great continent is even now in a vasdy higher state of civili- 
zation and improvement than the residents on the coast have 
any idea of.' 

* Has it not been said that tribes have been discovered in 
the interior of Africa who are Christians ? If I recollect, 
missionaries of the London Church Missionary Society for 
Egypt and Abyssinia, found, a few years since, a tribe never 
before visited by Europeans, who appeared to have much in 
their faith that is scriptural, and whose general practice is 
commendable. 

' Fragmentary Churches, doubtless exist in some parts of 
the East that are surrounded by, or covered with great moral 
darkness ; and I know not but as the churches in Syria, of 
which the Rev. Dr. Buchanan gives so interesting an ac- 
count, are thought to possess claims to apostolic origin, so 
the people of Abyssinia to whom you refer, may be regard- 
ed as Christians. 

* You have spoken, Sir, of some large cities visited by 
Lt. Laing, or other travellers : do you suppose that such set- 
tlements are common in the interior V 

' All who have travelled at all in central Africa, have found 
there very populous and highly cultivated countries, in 
which were large cities, of 30,000 some, and 50,000 some, 
or more inhabitants. To these marts resort all the people in 
the neighborhood, as in our own country to our large cities 
and towns, and caravans as well as single merchants from the 
most remote regions.' 

' I suppose. Pa, that the people in Africa have no idea that 
their color is resfarded by other nations as a blemish, and 



58 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Black has sometimes been regarded as the color of beauty. 

that ihey are therefore perfectly satisfied with themselves in 
that respect V 

* Indeed, they are well satisfied. Whiteness, when first 
beheld, is shocking to them ; they attribute it to disease. A 
charitable old negro woman who afforded Park a meal and a 
lodging, on the banks of the Niger, could not refrain, even 
in the midst of her kindness, from exclaiming, " God pre- 
serve us from the Devil !" as she looked upon him. And it 
is said to have been a common subject of regret among the 
girls at Bornou, that Denham and Clapperton were ivhite.'* 

* Oh ! Pa, you are jesting, I know.' 
'Indeed, Caroline, I am not.' 

*■ It may be that it has been said as you represent, but' — 

Henry here remarked that ' Herodotus has said " The 
^^thiopians excel all other nations in personal beauty.'* 
If black be a mark of beauty, Caroline,' he mischievously 
reraarked, ^ you would stand but little chance of making con- 
quest by your color, of an ebony .Ethiop, or of making the 
best market of yourself in Africa.' 

' Indeed, Henry, I think I should not repine.' 

* But to be serious,' continued Mr. L., ' it is a singular fact 
that when the blacks have taken precedence of the whites in 
civilization, science, and political power, no prejudice has 
appeared to exist against the color. The black Prince, 
Memnon, who served among the Trojan auxiliaries at the 
siege of Troy, is constantly spoken of, by the Greek and 
Latin authors, as a person of extraordinary beauty. He is 
qualified as the Son of Aurora, or the Morning. The pre- 
judice against the color of the blacks, many contend (and I 
shall not undertake to controvert their argument, although I 
freely acknowledge my own views would lead me to treat 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 59 



Domestic slavery in Africa. 



with great disapprobation any plea for amalgamation,) has 
grown out of the relative condition of the two races.' 

Caroline here inquired, ' Have not the Africans many 
slaves among themselves, in Africa? If I recollect, Mr. 
Clapperton says the domestic slaves are numerous.' 

* There is a great deal of domestic slavery in different 
parts of Africa; but it has been asserted that, for the most 
part, slavery, except as slaves are taken to be sold to the 
slave-merchants on the coast, is a different thing in Africa 
from what it is among us. I know not that it is said that 
the slaves are treated better than with us ; but it is thought 
that they are there viewed more as members of the family 
to which they are attached than as slaves. Still, I am in- 
clined to think that this is a gloss which a comparison would 
not justify.' 

Henry suggested, at this point, that slavery is bad enough, 
in any country, and under any circumstances. • Nothing,' 
said he, ' I am sure, can make amends for the loss of liberty 
—nothing, I mean, that??7Gn can offer.' 

Mr. L. had ' no doubt there has been many an instance of 
that which Montgomery has so finely expressed, 

" The broken heart which kindness never heals — 
The home-sick passion uhich the negro feels 
When toiling, fainting, in a land of canes. 
His spirit wanders to his native plains. 
And 'neath the shade of his paternal trees, 
His liitle lonely dwelling there he sees, 
The home of comfort." ' 

* I have seen it stated,' said Henry, ' that in some parts of 
Africa they hunt for slaves for transportation just as they 
would hunt for wild beasts.' 

* It is said that in Bornou, for instance,' replied Mr. L., 



60 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



How slaves are taken. 



' where the slave-trade is carried on to an immense extent 
and is the principal traffic, the mode in which slaves are pro- 
cured is very summary : A caravan of Moorish merchants 
arrives, and offers goods for slaves. If there are no slaves on 
hand they must be procured. The Sultan immediately col- 
lects his forces, marches into the country of some harmless 
tribe, burns their villages, destroys their fields and flocks, 
massacres the infirm and old, and returns M'ith as many able 
bodied prisoners as he can seize. vSometimes 3,000 have 
been obtained in a single " ghrazie," as these expeditions 
are called. The way in which slaves are obtained is some- 
what different in different parts of Africa, and yet is very 
similar in all.' 

The family all exclaimed, * How horrible !' 

Mr. L. resumed, ' The horrors of the slave-trade in Af- 
rica are great. Distressing, however, as is the situation of 
the captive when first 

" before his eyes 
The terrors of captivity arise," 

his sufferings are greater in what is called the "middle pas- 
sage," (that is during the voyage) if he be shipped to a dis- 
tant land ; and if they be carried, to supply the northern 
market, across the great desert, their sufferings are represent- 
ed as even greater. Driven by Arab merchants to the North 
of Africa, through the deep and burning sands of Sahara, 
scantily supplied with water, they sink in great numbers 
under their sufferings. Denham and his companions saw, 
in their journeyings, melancholy proofs of the horrors at- 
tending this "middle passage" overland. They at one 
time halted near a well around which were laying more than 
one hundred human skeletons, some of them with the skin 
siill remaining upon the bones. " They were only blacks,'" 



J 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. Gl 



Sufferings of the captured in the middle passage. 

said the Arabs, when they observed the horror of the travel-- 
lers, and then began to knock about the limbs and skulls with 
the butt-ends of their guns. Denham says they counted in 
another place one hundred and seven skeletons. In other 
instances, they passed sixty or eighty skeletons a day scat- 
tered along over that dreary waste. About the walls of El- 
Hamar, they saw many, and among the rest, the skeletons of 
two young females, faithful friends it would seem even in 
death, for these skeletons lay with their fleshless arms still 
clasped around each other.' 

Caroline felt a little faint, but after a few moments' inter* 
ruption, begged her father to proceed. She had no doubt it 
was owing to the heat of the room. Mr. L., with some 
hesitancy, continued: * While, says Denham, while I was 
dozing on my horse, about noon, overcome by the heat of 
the sun, I was suddenly awakened by a crashing under my 
feet, and found that my steed had stepped on the perfect 
skeletons of two human beings, cracking their brittle bones 
under his feet, and by one trip of his foot separating a skull 
from the trunk, it rolled on like a ball before him.' 

' O horrid barbarity ! Poor Africa !' exclaimed Caroline ; 
' how she has suffered ! I do not^wonder that that wretched 
continent has been represented as " a widow, sitting beneath 
her own palm-trees, clothed in sackcloth, and weeping for 
her children and refusing to be comforted!" ' 

' And are they exposed to much suffering on the western 
coast, when taken to be sent on ship-board, to be conveyed 
to other lands V said Henry. 

' Yes, their sufferings are great, and frequently insup- 
portable. At the lowest estimate, it is said that an average 
of one hundred thousand of the African race have been 
seized every year, and borne across the Atlantic to supply 
the West Indies and the Brazilian market alone. The wars 

s 



62 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Horrors of Slavery — A reproach to humanity. 

attending the capture of such a multitude, make Africa, of 
course, a field of blood, and a scene of great affliction.' 

* And then,' said C, 'the separation of relatives and 
friends, occasioned by the forced removal of the captured, I 
have no doubt breaks a thousand hearts ; O it is shocking to 
humanity ! And how painful is it to think that much of the 
distress which Africa has endured, has been occasioned, per- 
haps, by our own countrymen ; or, at least, has been caused 
by inducements which in our own country, this boasted land 
of liberty, have been held out to unprincipled men to pro- 
cure slaves and bring them hither ! It appears to me. Pa, 
that encouragement to the slave-trade, in a country like ours, 
more than any other, is dark disgrace.' 

' Yes, my daughter, it was indeed a dark blot upon our 
country's glory. It was felt to be such a stain as no Chris- 
tian nation should tolerate, much less, a people distinguished 
above all the nations of the earth for their civil and religious 
blessings, and whose very declaration, published to the 
world, boldly and solemnly asserts that all men are created 
equal; endoioed by their Creator with the unalienable 
rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.''^ 

* I recollect. Sir,' said H., ' some lines which forcibly illus- 
trate the sentiment you express ; they go further, however, 
and, notwithstanding the slave-trade is prohibited by our 
laws, reproach us for the continuance of slavery among us : 

" All are born free ; and all with equal rights. 
So speaks the Charter of a Nation, proud 
Of her unequalled liberties and laws ,• 
While, in that nation, shameful to relate, 
One man in Jive is born and dies A slave." 

* This expression has been by some of late, confidently pronounced 
" false in fact, and contradicted by the word of revelation." We think, 
however, that no reasonable man can deny its correctness, in the obvious 
tense in which it was intended by the framers of the Declaration of Inde» 
pondence. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 63 



An evil full of danger. 



' Can you repeat further?' said C. ' If I recollect, what 
follows is equally elegant, and impressive.' 

' I can imperfectly. I may perhaps do injustice to the au- 
thor by some omissions or alterations, as I cannot promise 
that I shall give the precise original, in totidem verbis : 

" Is this my country ? this that happy land. 

The wonder and the envy of the world ? 

O for a mantle to conceal her shame ! 

But why 1 when patriotism cannot hide 

The ruin which her guilt will surely bring 

If unrepented ? for unless the God 

Who poured his plagues on Egypt till she let 

The oppress'd go free, and often pours his wrath 

In earthquakes and tornadoes on the isles 

Of Western India, laying waste their fields, 

Dashing their mercenary ships ashore. 

Tossing the isles themselves like floating wrecks. 

And burying towns alive in one wide grave. 

No sooner ope'd but closed, let judgment pass 

For once untasted till the general doom, 

Can it go well with us while we retain 

This cursed thing ? 

" Will not some daring spirit, born to thoughts 
Above his beast-like state, find out the truth 
That Africans are ' we/j,' and catching fire 
From freedom's altar raised before his eyes 
With incense burning sweet, in others light 
A kindred flame in secret, till a train 
Kindled at once, deal death on every side ? 

" Cease, then, Columbia— for thy safety, cease, 
And for thine honor to proclaim the praise 
Of thy fair shores oi liberty and joy, 
While thrice seven hundred thousand wretched slaves 
Are held in thine own land /" ' 

* The poetry is very good, my son, and in some respects 
the sentiment is appropriate. But there are various and 
weighty considerations connected with this subject which 
must not be lost sight of. The enormity of the slave-trade, 



64 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The evil must be removed. 



^ye all admit, and I am by no means, even in view of all the 
peculiar circumstances in which we are placed, an advocate 
for perpetuating the relation which we find existing in a 
portion of our states: I confess, however, that I can neither 
say on the one hand that duty calls imperatively on all mas- 
ters to throw up at once that legal claim to the services of 
the slave which the constitution recognizes ; nor, on the 
other hand, that all has been done which ought to have been 
done for the amelioration of their condition and the ultimate 
extniction of the relation. The subject, I am constrained to 
acknowledge, is attended with much difficulty. In some 
future conversation I will express my views more fully in 
reference to the subject, at present simply adding that it is 
one of great, increasing, and solemn interest. AVe are a 
peculiar people ; and as a nation have hitherto enjoyed unex- 
ampled prosperity. Our success, I doubt not, is to be at- 
tributed, under God, in a great measure to the fact that our 
institutions, since the Revolution, are based on the principle 
of moral rectitude and the equal rights of man. If we 
abide by our own professed declarations and principles, we 
may prosper still. But our prosperity will wane— our hap- 
piness will be of short duration, unless our practice be a 
consistent comment on our national declarations and profes- 
sions. That moral debt which our ancestors contracted 
when being presented with the forbidden fruit, they took 
and ate, must be paid by us, their heirs, (I mean the debt 
we owe to Africa,) or I am satisfied that our country will 
yet feel the severe scourge of heaven 1 We must do what 
we can to redress the wrongs we have done, or our country 
is ruined! It will be of no avail that we have able states- 
men, or a faithful administration, or that the physical strength 
and resources of our country are our boast, and that we pride 
ourselves on the valor of our armies and the gallantry of our 
navy without a sacred regard to the immutable principles of 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Somethins must be done. 



justice. "We have before us the experience of ages — the 
philosophy of many an experiment and of many a failure, 
in the history of nations ; and we must profit by the instruc- 
tions of the past, if we would be successful and happy for 
any length of time : otherwise the period may arrive, when, 
ere we are aware, this giant republic will be broken, and 
scattered, and peeled. Happy should I be to see in every 
part of our beloved country a more strict regard to that sacred 
maxim. '• Righteousness exalteth a xatiox." ' 

' I hope and trust, Pa,' said Caroline, ' that the kind Pro- 
vidence that has always watched over us for good, wiU in- 
cline the minds of this people to a right course, and avert 
from us all calamity.' 

' I hope so. But the slave question is, I fear, presmant with 

danger ! 

*' You do not think. Pa, that danger is near?' 

' I know not at what moment the volcano may burst : but 
this we all know, that already we have heard its mutterinsr, 
nor has it been without some transient irruptions. The 
Southampton tragedy cannot soon be forgotten : nor can we 
be blind to the exciting nature of the question in every part of 
the Union. The elements of destruction are indeed among 
us. Two millions of slaves, and three hundred thousand 
free blacks, with their rapid increase, in connexion with the 
diversity of feeling and sentiment which exist among our- 
selves, and the lack of sympathy for our situation among 
other nations, are, altogether, a tremendous evil. We live 
indeed in a peculiar age. Great changes are taking place in 
the earth. The ball of revolution is moved. 

The age finds all within the vortex drawn. 
The strength of current far too great to stem 
By feisrned indifference. 
e2 



66 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Something must be done. 



And something must be done ; for a crisis is near. The 
considerate feel this and acknowledge it. What can be done, 
cr how a " consummation most devoutly to be wished," 
shall be effected, is an important, serious, solemn question.' 

♦ I should think, Pa, that there can be but one opinion as 
to the expediency of attending to the subject, and doing some- 
thing effectual to remove the evil entirely from among us V 

' And I,' said Henry, ' should think there could be, amongst 
the discerning, but one opinion in respect to the advantages 
of colonization.' 

' In respect to the means most proper to be employed,' 
said Mr. L., 'there is a difference of opinion; but reflecting 
men generally, as I said before, are beginning to feel, more 
than ever, that something must be done. No one who looks 
at the subject with a candid eye can, it seems to me, doubt 
either the expediency of encouraging the colonization of our 
colored population in Africa, or the desirableness of the 
abolishment of slavery in our land. Connected with this 
subject are great questions, which I have said, involve great 
considerations, requiring the wisdom which is from above, 
and calling for a spirit of prayer, meekness, and great for- 
bearance. Already are there thrown around it difficulties 
and embarrassment which ought to have been avoided, or 
rather I would say, ought never to have been created. A 
wrong spirit and unwise measures only increase the evil. 
So serious and alarming is it now, that very many are ac- 
tually afraid to look the subject full in the face. What shall 
he done ? is a question which they dare not meet, although 
all the while they /ear that it will force itself upon us in a way 
that shall be most painful. I confess, for my own part, that 
1 have sometimes apprehended that an issue may possibly 
come in a shape that shall demand tears of anguish for rivers 
of blood. May all that relates to this subject be wisely and 
"kindly ordered by a good and merciful Providence.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 67 

Self-preservation, a law of nature. — A change is taking place. 



CONVERSATION VII. 

" We are required to devise some means whereby the political evil which 
we have inherited may be corrected, and a foul, unseemly stain washed 
from our national escutcheon. Duty to the colored population of our coun- 
try calls loudly for it — duty to ourselves demands it." — Gov. Vroom. 

* I have been thinking inuch, through the day,' said Caro- 
line, ' of our last conversation. Self-preservation, it is some- 
times asserted as a maxim incontrovertible, is the first law of 
nature. It is a law, however, which appears to me to be 
very little regarded, or there could not, I think, be such apa- 
thy in respect to the dangers that surround us. Self-interest, 
I should think, would furnish to the southern people pressing 
motives to a right course, and that as far as practicable they 
would join in immediate and vigorous action for freeing our 
land finally from the very last remnant of slavery.' 

' The public are awakening to the importance of the sub- 
ject,' replied Mr. L., ' and begin to feel more than formerly 
the urgency of the case. Every passing month, the cause 
of Africa's unhappy children, is finding new and ardent 
friends. The duty which we owe ourselves, our country, 
and the world, demands of us greater sympathy for that long 
neglected portion of our globe. The time, I trust, will come, 
when every band that chafes the limbs or the souls of our 
colored brethren will be loosed. A mighty change has taken 
place, and is still increasing. In this subject the non-slave- 
holding States as well as the South have and feel a deep 
interest.' 

* In case of insurrection among the slaves of the South, I 
do not see that we should be in any danger. Pa?' 

» We might not be in 2i\\y personal danger, my son ; but is 
not the South as well as the North our country ; are not the 



68 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Our whole country has one common interest. 



noble-hearted Southrons our brethren ; and are they not every- 
way worthy of our warm affection and respect ? They are 
indeed part of ourselves. If personal danger were the only 
cause of alarm, we surely could not be indifferent spectators 
of a scene of revolt and its dreadful consequences. Our in- 
terests are interwoven, and bound together by many ties. 
Our intimate friends and connexions are scattered over the 
Union, and ourselves, or our children 7nay be on the very 
centre of the crater, when the volcano shall burst. ' There 
are other considerations, however, which should not be 
viewed with indifference. Such is the genius of our govern- 
ment, that if one member suffer, all the members suffer with 
it. Frequent collisions of feeling, clashing of sentiment, and 
contentions for opposite interests are painfully adapted to 
sunder the strongest bonds of brotherhood. The existence 
of slavery in our land, has more than once been the fertile 
theme of political strife in our national councils, the rallying 
point of contending parties. It has lately encfendered much 
bad feeling, and what will be its final result is the subject of 
much anxious speculation and the cause of unpleasant fore- 
bodings. To be united, prosperous, and happy, for any 
length of time, we must be one in sentiment, one in action, 
one in character.' 

* The farf^ question did much to provoke unpleasant feel- 
ing between the different parts of the Union, did it not, Pa V 

* Tariff and anti-tariff views, and the like, have had less to 
do in producing the commotions which have convulsed our 
country at different times, than many are aware of. It was 
an evil hour when slavery was introduced to this ojlherwise 
favored land. Its unhappy influence has been gradually de- 
veloped until its curse has become tremendous. Admit that 
we feel lis direct influence but little in this part of our coun- 
try ; still, it has an influence indirect, which more than all 



PLZA FOR AFRICA. 69 



Slavery is the bane of oar peace and anity. 

things else contributes to mar and jeopard the peace, the 
welfare, and the permanency of the Union. " The fact is," 
says one of her own distinguished citizens, *' slavery is the 
bane and the ruin of one portion of our land, and the advan- 
tage of FREE labor and industr;.- has exalted the other por- 
tion. Th^ natural consequence is, a morbid sensibility and 
ever wakeful jealousy on the part of the depressed ; and an 
increasing desire for greater gain and aggrandisement, on the 
part of the other. Yes, it is slavery that sinks the South ! 
See the wide-spreading ruin which the avarice of our ances- 
tral government has produced, as witnessed in a sparse popu- 
lation of freemen, deserted habitations, fields without culture ; 
and, strange to tell, even the wolf, driven back long since by 
the approach of man, now returns, after the lapse of an hun- 
dred years, to howl over the desolations of slavery." Their 
lands worn out, in a great measure, under the ungrateful cul- 
tivation of slaves ; the population of freemen declining, or 
wending their westward way ; and those interests neglected 
which would have been cultivated by a free, white, and 
working population, the South feels but too sensibly everv 
effort which other sections make to sustain themselves, as if 
oppressive of her — whilst, all the time, the evil, the root of 
the evil, is slavery !* The South has injured, and is yet 

* It may not be amiss to introduce and record here an eleeant tribute to 
the North, from the eloquent lips of Mr. Prestox of South Carolina, recent- 
ly delivered at a public meeting at Columbia, S. C, as reported in a south- 
ern paper. The sentiments expressed, leave the unavoidable impression 
upon the mind that the great cause of the dilierence to which Mr. Preston 
adverts, is found in the fact that free labor is preferable as a matter of po- 
licy and interest to slave labor; and that the South, with all her natural ad- 
vantages, will never become what she might be, until the character of her 
working population is changed. 

"Mr. Prestox, in his speech drew a very striking contrast between the 
difference of character of the people of the Northern and of the Southern 
parts of the Union, and the consequently opposite condition of the c-ountries 
that they inhabit. He said that no southern man can journev (as he had 
done; through the Northern states, and witness the prosperity, the industry, 
the public spirit, which they exhibit, the sedulous cultivation of all those 
arts by which life is rendered comfortable and respectable, without feelings 
of deep sadness and shame, as he remembers his own neglected and desolate 



70 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Slavery depresses the South. — Is unprofitable. 



crushing herself, by cherishing an evil which will yet be 
found to be more than can be borne. She cannot rise whilst 
the evil remains. She feels it ; and the other states see it to 
be so. It is a subject, however, that c^n hardly be discuss- 
home. There, no dwelling is to be seen abandoned, no farm uncultivated, 
no man idle, no waterfall, even, unemploj'ed. Every person and every 
thing performs a part towards the grand result, and the whole land is cover- 
ed with fertile fields, with manufactories, and canals, and railroads, and 
public edifices, and towns and cities. Along the route of the great New- 
York canal, that glorious monument of the glorious memory of De Witt Clin- 
ton, a canal, a railroad, and a turnpike, are to be seen in the width of per- 
haps a hundred yards, each of them crowded with travel, or overflowing 
with commerce. Throughout their course, lands that before their construc- 
tion would scarcely command five dollars the acre, now sell for fifty, seventy- 
five, or a hundred. Passing along it, you see no space of three miles with- 
out a town or village, and you are never out of the sound of a church bell. 
We of the South are mistaken in the character of those people, when we 
think of them only as pedlars in horn flints and bark nutmegs. Their energy 
and enterprise are directed to all objects, great and small, within their reach. 
At the fall of a scanty rivulet, they set up their little manufactory of wooden 
buttons or combs; they plant a barren hill-side with broom corn, and make 
it into brooms at the bottom — and on its top they erect a wind-mill. Thus, 
at a single spot you may see the air, the earth, and the water, all working 
for them. But, at the same time, tlie ocean is whitened Vq its extremities 
with the sails of their ships, and the land is covered with their works of art 
and usefulness. 

«' Massachusetts is perhaps the most flourishing of the Northern states. Yet, 
of natural productions, she exports but two articles — granite and ice. Abso- 
lutely nothing but reck and ice! Every thing else of her commerce, from 
which she derives so much, is artificial — the work of her own hands. All 
this is done, in a region wuh a ble.k climate and sterile soil, by the energy 
and intelligence of the people. Each man knows that the public good is his 
individual advantage. The number of railroads, and other modes of expe- 
ditious intercommunication, knits the whole country into a closely compact- 
ed mass, through which the productions of commerce and of the press, the 
comforts of life, and the means of knowledge, are universally diffused; while 
the close intercourse of travel and business makes all men neighbors, and 
promotes a common interest and common sympathy. In a community thus 
connected, a single flash of thought pervades the whole land, almost as ra- 
pidly as thought itself can fly. The population becomes, as it were, a single 
set of muscles, animated by one heart, and directed by a common sensorium. 

" How different the condition of things in the South ! Here, the face of the 
country wears the aspect of premature old age and decay. No improvement 
is seen going on, nothing is done for posterity, no man thinks of any thing 
beyond the present moment. Oar lands are" yearly tasked to their utmost 
capacity of production, and, when exhausted, are abandoned for the youthful 
west. Because nature has been prodigal to us, we seem to think it unneces- 
sary to d(j any thing for ourselves. Tlie industry and skill that have con- 
verted the inclement and barren hills of New England into a garden, in the 
genial climate and fertile soil of the South, would create almost a paradise. 
Our natural advantages are among the greatest with which Providence has 
bleised mankind, but we lack the spirit to enjoy and improve them. The 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 71 

Introduced by England. — Policy of England. 

ed at all in its various bearings without eliciting sectional 
jealousy, or party severity, and enkindling mutual animosi- 
ties, although it is an evil that convulses and stains the entire 
length and breadth of our land V 

* You consider slave labor then as unprofitable, Pa?' 

* There are individual exceptions, undoubtedly, in which 
the slave dedicates himself to his master with the most zeal- 
ous and generous devotion ; but generally that labor we 
should suppose most profitable, in which the laborer knows 
that he will derive the profits of his industry ; his employ- 
ment depending on his diligence, and his reward upon his 
assiduity. There is every motive to excite to exertion, and 
to animate to perseverance. Therefore, where the choice 
exists to employ, at an equal hire, free, or slave labor, the 
former will be decidedly preferred, because it is regarded as 
more capable, more diligent, more faithful, more worthy of 
confidence. Where capital is unable to command the free 
labor that is required, as has been sometimes the case in the 
first settlement of some parts of our country, it may there 
purchase that of slaves.' 

' Then slavery was introduced into this country on ac- 
count of the difficulty of procuring free labor in the first set- 
tlement of the country, was it, sir ?' 

' Yes ; the first guilt of the introduction of slavery into 
this country is chargeable upon England ; and the circum- 
stances are such as show conclusively that where free labor 
can be had, avarice, which knows the way to wealth even 
better than philosophy itself, prefers free labor. AVhen Eng- 

rich ore is beneath our feet, yet we dig not for it. The golden fruit hano^s 
from the bough, and we lift not our hands to gather it. The cask of delicious 
liquor is before our eyes, but we are too lazy even to broach it. In thinking, 
in writing, and in talking, we are equal to any people on the face of the 
earth ; but we do nothing but think, write, and talk." 



72 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Slavery retires South — cannot be supported on barren soil. 

land introduced slavery into her American colonies and 
islands, she had as much free labor at home as the land-holders 
wanted to employ ; and it has been on this account, and this 
only, that the poet was enabled to say, 

" Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs 
Receive our air, that moment they are free ; 
They touch our countrjs and their shackles fall." 

The fact is, the respiration could go on well enough in those 
parts of her dominions where free labor was not to he ob- 
tained. In America was a widely-extended territory, with 
a soil and climate adapted to the raising of the most profit- 
able articles of commerce. In order to render the colonies 
an immediate and productive source of revenue, which was 
the setded policy of England, and on which she placed great 
reliance, (monopolizing at the same time all her colonial 
commerce, and taking care to increase that commerce as 
much as possible by increasing the productions of the soil,) 
an immediate supply of labor was necessary. As an expe- 
dient to provide for her colonial wants, she commenced fill- 
ing her colonies with African slaves ! She would not tole- 
rate slavery at home, and yet would provide for, and locate 
tlie evil among her distant children, who, consulting their 
immediate profit, and regardless of future consequences, at 
length fell in with the slave-policy of the mother country. 

' The same causes which induced England to prohibit 
slavery at home, and yet pour slaves into her colonies, it 
may be remarked, led Spain and France and all the European 
powers, who were supplied with free labor at home, but had 
infant colonies in the West Indies or America, to do the 
same. Instead of waiting for the New World to populate 
with laborers by the emigration of free men, and the natural 
increase of population, slavery was resorted to as a more 
speedy method of introducing labor. It was introduced to 
the colonies only, because free labor was not to be had there ; 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 73 



Occasions much anxiety. 



and not into the mother country because slave labor cannot 
compete with the free where the employer has his choice.' 

* How inappropriate then the praise which Cowper be- 
stows on his native country, in the lines that follow the quo- 
tation which you just now made : 

" That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud 
And jealous of the blessing." 

If slave labor be so unprofitable, and if the naturally rich 
lands of the South become, in process of time, barren under 
its culture, it is not strange that slavery should have retired 
first from the Northern and Eastern states.' 

* Slavery is a tax that poor soils and cold climates like 
ours cannot endure. The cost of cultivating an unproductive 
soil with slaves, is more than the productions of the soil 
would bring in return.' 

* Yet cold countries and comparatively unproductive soils 
are cultivated by free labor to advantage ?' 

* Yes ; Switzerland, Scotland, and New England, are 
striking examples of it. The freedom and character of the 
laboring population, make these countries populous and 
wealthy, although nature has by no means been liberal in 
her gifts to either of them. Introduce there a system of slave 
labor, and pauperism and famine would be the inevitable 
consequence. It has been well remarked that "free and 
slave labor move in opposite directions from the same point 
of departure ; and, while one is regularly diminishing the ca- 
pacity of the earth for production, the other is constantly 
nourishing and invigorating its powers." It is an opinion 
of no recent date, but ancient as slavery itself, that the labor 
of bondmen is gradually destructive of the soil to which it is 
applied.' 

* I can appreciate now,' said Caroline, * a remark of Miss 

F 



74 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Great vigilance necessary. 



Harriet Marlineau— she says, " The slave system inflicts an 
incalculable amount of human suffering for the sake of a 
wholesale ivaste of labor and capital.^' 1 have been told 
that the slave population of the South is a great check upon 
the enjoyments of life, and a source of constant apprehension 
and of very frequent alarm. It seems to me that if I lived at 
the South, I should have the bloody scenes of St. Domingo 
and the Southampton massacre haunting my fears continu- 
ally.' 

* 1 cannot say that I ever felt alarmed on account of per- 
sonal exposure at the South, although I resided there, many- 
years, in the midst of a slave population chiefly. I confess, 
however, I now conceive the danger greatly increased. Your 
mother was once obliged, in company with a multitude of 
other ladies and their children, to flee, in the night, several 
miles into the country, at a time of threatened insurrection. 
In some parts of the southern states such causes of fear and 
momentary distress, are not unfrequent.' 

' I suppose. Pa, that the circumstances of the Southamp- 
ton insurrection are recollected by you : will you give us 
some account of it. I have forgot its detail, although I re- 
tain the impression which it made. The leader of that in- 
surrection was a negro, was he not?' 

* It would neither be pleasant nor profitable to dwell on 
that most melancholy catastrophe. Sufiice it to say, it was 
planned by a negro, by the name of Turner. He communi- 
cated his plans to a few kindred spirits, who with ready 
minds and hands engaged in the work of preparation. Others 
were gradually prepared for the intended event. When 
the work of destruction commenced, they armed themselves 
with hatchets and axes. Turner ascended by a ladder to 
the upper part of his master's house in the silenfce of night, 
and passing down stairs, opened the outer doors of the house 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 75 



Insurrectionary alarms. 



to his followers, and told them the work was now open to 
them, Turner himself giving the first blow with a hatchet 
both to his master and mistress as they lay asleep in bed. 
In his confession, he said that his " master sprung from the 
bed and called his wife, but it was the last word ; another 
blow laid him and his wife both dead." The murder of the 
family, five in number, was the work of a moment. *' Not 
one of them awoke," said Turner. He continues, " There 
was a little infant sleeping in a cradle, that was forgotten 
until we had left the house and gone some distance, when 
Harry and Will (two accomplices) returned and killed it. 
"We got here four guns and several old muskets, with a 
pound or two of powder." They then proceeded to the 
next house, a mile distant. They there shot a man whom 
they met in the yard. It was now day-light. The family 
in the house took the alarm, and fastened the door. With 
one stroke of an axe the door was broken in. They entered, 
and finding two ladies, they killed them, one with a single 
blow of an axe, the other. Turner said, he " took by the 
hand and with a sword struck her several blows over the 
head, but the sword being dull, another negro despatched 
her with an axe." At another house, after having murdered 
all the family but the lady and her daughter. Turner said 
that one of his associates " pulled the lady out of the house, 
and on the steps severed her head from her body wiih a 
broadaxe." "Miss ," he continues, "when I dis- 
covered her, had concealed herself in the corner formed by 
the projection of the cellar-cap from the house. On my 
approach she fled, but was soon overtaken, and, after re- 
peated blows with the sword, I killed her by a blow on the 
head with a fence-rail." In this way they proceeded until 
more than sixty persons, men, women, and children, fell a 
sacrifice to the vengeance of their slaves. I cannot go 
through with a rehearsal of all the circumstances. I have 



76 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Insurrectionary alarms. 



not a heart for it. What has been related, nearly in the 
language of Turner himself, will serve to give one some 
faint idea of the horrors of a negro insurrection, and of the 
dangers against which the utmost vigilance is necessary to 
guard the lives of multitudes. 

* I have here a letter from a gentleman in Georgia, which 
will perhaps enable you to form a more vivid idea of the sen- 
sation produced in every southern town, when an insurrec- 
tion is apprehended. The letter was written some time 

since, not to myself, but to Mr. . It says, " The 

papers from this state have no doubt apprised you of the 
excitement which prevails here about our black population. 
We were all thrown into great fright and confusion, a few 
nights since, by a report that the negroes on a plantation 
about five miles distant had risen, and were marching direct 
for the town. It was 11 o'clock at night, when the whole 
population were in their beds. You cannot conceive, no 
matter how active your imagination may be, ,the scene that 
ensued. In an hour, every woman and child in the place 
was transported to the largest building in the town for safety, 
and a large patrol placed in front to protect them. I had re- 
tired when the alarm was given, but we immediately got up 

and dressed, and were soon after joined by Mrs. , with 

her infant, pale as marble. I closed the door, and urged 
them to be quiet, and remain in the house ; but it was use- 
less — go they would — others were gone, and they would 
not stay to be murdered. Finding reasoning lost, I opened 
the door and out we sallied — your humble servant with a 
half naked babe in his arms, and two M'omen by-his side, 
scudding with as much speed as a Baltimore schooner, under 
a full press of canvass. * * We staid all night. * * The 
alarm has subsided, but I do not think we are safe one hour. 
The very elements of destruction are around us, mingling 
in all our relations, and we know not at what moment the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA, 77 



Slavery an evil to master snd slave. 



Storm may burst over us. An insurrectionary spirit is abroad, 
and God only knows when it will be subdued — my own 
opinion is that it never will 6e." 

* O slavery !' said Caroline, * I hardly know which situa- 
tion is more distressing — that of the slave-holder, or his 
bondmen.' 



CONVERSATION VIII. 



" What day passes by without the occurrence of some event, or the wit- 
ness of some scene, which draws from every feeling heart a sigh or a prayer 
for the complete fulfilment of all the most sanguine hopes of the friends of 
colonization ? It is not merely for an unfortunate portion of our fellow be- 
ings, who have been thrown upon our charity, that this Society is formed : 
ourselves, our children, our land, and every institution of our beloved coun- 
try, are deeply involved." — Bishop Meade. 

* We are now ready for another conversation on Africa. I 
thought that you, at least, Caroline, retired from the subject 
last night well satisfied with a residence in a non-slavehold- 
ing state, and congratulating yourself, perhaps, that you 
could lay your head on your pillow without the apprehen- 
sion of being aroused before morning by the cry of "an in- 
surrection ?" ' 

' Indeed, Pa, I have thought much of the South ; more, 
perhaps, because I was born there ; and I acknowledge that 
I have often wished to see the land of my infancy and ear- 
liest childhood, especially when I have heard you speak so 
honorably and feelingly of the kindness and hospitality of 
the South, and so affectionately of the many warm friends 
we have there. I have myself formed a very exalted idea 
of the warm-hearted friendship and genuine hospitality of the 

F 2 



7B PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Slavery attended with anxieties. 



South. I also think I should like their pleasant winters, and 
should relish their summer fruits. Still I cannot say that I 
am, in view of all circumstances, anxious to take up my 
residence, even for a few months, in the midst of so much 
anxiety and alarm as I am sure I should feel in any place 
surrounded by a population composed, in a great proportion, 
of slaves. I want to have nothing to do with slavery. I 
can adopt Cowper*s declaration with all sincerity : 

" I would not have a slave to till ray ground, 

To carry nie, to fan rae while I sleep, 

And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth 

That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd. 

No : dear as freedom is, and in my heart's 

Just estimation prized above all price, 

I had much rather be myself the slave, 

And wear the bonds, than fasten them on him." ^ 

' Pa,' said Henry, ' are not the laws of slave-holding 
states very severe in respect to the slave ? I have read some 
very cruel enactments, as they appeared to me. I recollect 
that about the time of the Southampton massacre, or soon 
after it, the legislature of Louisiana adopted very severe re- 
solutions, in respect to slaves, and ordered all free people 
who had lately come into the state, to leave it within sixty 
days.' 

' I would offer no apology for needless severity, my son ; 
but it is conceded by all that the very existence of slavery 
seems to require some provisions for its maintenance. In 
my own view, the necessity for severe enactments, shows 
slavery to be a great evil. It is pleaded however by the 
people of the South, that rigorous laws and those which 
seem to some cruelly severe, are made necessary by '• the 
interference of strangers." The resolutions, for instance, to 
which you refer as having passed the Louisiana legislature, 
were adopted a few days after the arrest in New Orleans of 
four free persons of color engaged in circulating *« Walker*s 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 79 



Severe enactments.— Severe laws necessary. 



Appeal," called more commonly both at the South and the 
North, " the diabolical Boston pamphlet." This pamphlet 
was calculated to endanger the lives of the whole white popu- 
lation of the southern country, wherever it should obtain cir- 
culation among the blacks. Even in Boston, although there 
was no law which took cognizance of the act, the municipal 
Judge referred to that publication in his charge at the open- 
ing of the next court, as one of highly reprehensible character, 
and he regretted that the laws had not anticipated the offence. 
In Georgia, too, about the same time, the legislature thought 
it necessary to impose a quarantine of forty days on all ves- 
sels arriving with free colored persons on board, and to 
oblige the captains of such vessels to carry away again all 
such persons ; and they also enacted that the circulation of 
pamphlets of evil tendency among domestics, be considered 
a capital offence. The same law makes it pejial to teach 
free persons of color, or slaves, to read or write, and pro- 
hibits the introduction of slaves into the state for sale. These 
enactments were in consequence of a message of Gov. Gil- 
mer, founded upon a pamphlet of dangerous character which 
was found to be in circulation in Savannah. Other severe 
legislation has taken place from time to time, for similar 
reasons. It is, to say the least, truly an unfortunate state of 
things which requires such security.' 

* Pa, I can hardly regard any one as a good citizen, or 
considerate man, who would throw these pubHcations, as so 
many firebrands, into the midst of a slave population. I 
should think it would be like casting coals of fire into a ma- 
gazine,' said Caroline. 

'These laws,' Mr. L. further remarked, * are chiefly of 
recent date ; and it was to be hoped that the causes which 
led to their adoption and seemed to render them necessary, 
would cease to operate, and that the laws would be altered 



80 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Dangerous publications. — The South must be vigilant. 

or repealed. The evil complained of, however, it is said, 
has continued to exist, and that too accompanied with aggra- 
vated circumstances which have led to renewed and more 
rigorous legislation ; whilst also appeals have been made by- 
several of the states through their legislatures to the non- 
slave-holding states, asking them to legislate on the subject, 
so as to make punishable in all the states the issuing of such 
publications as strike at the peace and security of other parts 
of the Union. Congress has also been occupied in much 
unprofitable discussion growing out of the present state of 
things, whilst from one part of the country, petitions have 
flowed in upon the two houses for the abolition of slavery in 
the District of Columbia ; and from another, efforts have 
been made to subject the Post-office establishment to such 
regulations that a supervisory power shall exclude from the 
mails all publications deemed incendiary, and also to secure 
from our national legislature a pledge that the United States 
has no authority touching the question of slavery even with- 
in their own domain, the ten miles square in which our capi- 
tol is located. The greatest circumspection should, doubt- 
less, be observed for the safety of the South, or the conse- 
quence of remissness on their part will be the sacrifice of 
many valuable lives, both among the whites who may be 
the victims of an insurrectionary movement, and the blacks 
■who would fall in its suppression.' 

' Have we reason to suppose that an insurrection of the 
negroes at the South will ever be permanently successful ? 
It was, I believe, at St. Domingo V 

' It cannot be attended with permanent success, so long as 
the Union endures. Mr. Clay has correctly remarked, " It 
would be speedily suppressed by the all-powerful means of 
the United States ; and, it would be the jnadness of despair 
in the blacks that should attempt it. But, if attempted in 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 81 



The South must be vigilant. 



some parts of the United States, what shocking scenes of 
carnage, rapine, and lawless violence might not be perpe- 
trated before the arrival at the theatre of action of a com- 
petent force to quell it ! And after it is put down, what 
other scenes of military rigor and bloody executions to 
punish the insurgents, and impress their whole race with the 
influence of example !" ' 

* The necessity of keeping the blacks in ignorance^ it 
seems to me, is greatly to be regretted.' 

' It is. I cannot myself, however, believe in such neces- 
sity. The slave and the free should both be instructed. In 
what way instruction should be given may be a matter of in- 
quiry. This subject may be regulated according to what 
shall appear safest and most equitable in respect to all con- 
cerned. But to withhold moral and religious instruction 
from any human being, is altogether unjustifiable. To be- 
stow generally that instruction also which prepares for the 
enjoyment of freedom, I think is both duty and good policy. 
If the slave remain a slave, I cannot think that entire ignor- 
ance is necessary ; and if he is ever to be free, it is certainly 
necessary that he should be instructed.' 

' I think I have heard you say. Pa, that you have given 
instruction to slaves, and that no objection was made by their 
masters V 

* I have. I do not mean religious and moral instruction 
only either. I have heard a slave at the South recite from 
the Latin and Greek Classics. That slave was also acquaint- 
ed with the Hebrew. I have seen negroes at the South ad- 
mitted to equal privileges in some of the first literary insti- 
tutions. I know many slave-holders who disclaim the idea 
that it is necessary to keep slaves in ignorance ; and I know 
not a few benevolent masters and mistresses, who, either in 
person, instruct their slaves, or cause others to do it under 



82 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Insurrectionary attempts ruinous to the blacks. 



their direction. This, it is true, is not according to the letter 
of the laws, if according to the spirit of the government in the 
slave-holding states. Jealousy and fear, perhaps I ought to 
say common prudence, have caused severe laws, which pre- 
clude the instruction, lawfully, in some instances, of both 
bondman and colored freeman. Not even religious and moral 
instruction is to be given except under certain restrictions. 
But I believe that any man in whom the community may 
have confidence, might pass his life very usefully at the 
South in the instruction of negroes, bond and free, with the 
entire approbation of the whites, notwithstanding all present 
legal enactments, there being little disposition to enforce the 
letter of the law except in necessary cases.' 

* Of what use then are the enactments V 

' The slave-holder, perhaps, will tell you that these enact- 
ments enable the southern community of whites to keep the 
power in their own hands, against all who would exert a 
dangerous influence ; but that they were never designed to 
operate except as a preventive of insurrectionary plans and 
incentives.' 

* You think, Sir, that the laws in regard to blacks in the 
southern states would be of a very different character, were 
it not for the indiscreet measures of men who, professing to 
befriend the slave, endanger the safety of both whites and 
blacks, in their hostility to slavery V 

* I do ; and there are a multitude of facts to which I might 
refer — facts of no doubtful character — in support of that 
sentiment. It is an opinion also which I have heard ex- 
pressed by intelligent blacks at the South, who generally 
most heartily deprecate any interference in their concerns, 
by citizens of non-slaveholding States. Their situation is 
made extremely trying oftentimes by such interference. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 83 

Kindly feelings of the South. 

Still I would by no means impugn the motives of any class 
of the true friends of Africa. Aspersions are often cast, no 
doubt most unjus.tly, on the motives of a portion of the ad- 
vocates of universal emancipation. Incendiaries and evil dis- 
posed men there may be among them ; but indiscriminate 
censure is generally wrong.' 

* Why, Pa, do not the slaveholding States unite, and rid 
themselves of the evil at once ? I am sure they might do 
better than continue to cherish an evil so fraught with danger 
and solicitude.' 

' My daughter, they feel, (and I have no doubt that under 
existing circumstances, the conviction is honest,) that they 
cannot rid themselves of the evil so easily, as some imagine. 
There is, the southron will tell you, a relation between the 
owner of slaves, and the unhappy beings who are thrown 
upon him, which is far more complicated, and far less easily 
dissolved, than a mind, unacquainted wdth the whole subject 
in all its bearings, is apt to suppose — a relation growing out 
of the very structure of society. Go, for instance, to the 
slave-holder, and propose to him to emancipate his slaves. 
He feels the evils of slavery as strongly, and probably more 
so than you can feel them — and ivho will say that he has not 
as much benevolence in his heart as we in ours ? The laws 
of his State, framed according to the dictates of the best 
judgment of legislators, forbid emancipation, except under 
certain restrictions, which are deemed absolutely necessary 
to prevent pauperism, and wretchedness, and crime, and 
utter ruin : and here are human beings dependant on him for 
protection, and government, and support. The relation he 
did not voluntarily assume. He was born the legal proprietor 
of his slaves, just as much as he was born the subject of civil 
government. This fact is often sneered at ; but it is fact not- 
withstanding. And it is his duty, and a duty which he can- 
not well avoid, to make the best provision for them in his 



84 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Difficulties of emancipation. 



power. Too frequently, it would be just as humane to 
tlirow them overboard at sea, as to set them free in this 
country. Moreover, if he turn them out to shift for them- 
selves, he turns out upon the community those who in all 
probability will become, most of them, vagabonds, paupers, 
felons, a pest to society. He will tell you that as a Christian, 
as a patriot, as a philanthropist, as an honest man, and hu- 
mane friend of the blacks, he finds insuperable obstacles to 
the accomplishment of what you propose. He will tell you, 
perhaps, that it is " a consummation devoutly to be wished.''^ 
Many, I believe, are precisely of this state of mind. 

* I acknowledge that I have had my northern prejudices ; 
and those prejudices were strong — they stirred within me 
indignation — and almost revenge. But I would now indulge 
in no sweeping anathema against the South. I have been, 
for years, in a situation to see the tremendous evil of slavery 
as it is. I can therefore sympathize with the slave-holder 
who regrets the necessity which, in a measure, compels him 
to hold his fellow-men in bondage, whilst at the same time I 
abhor slavery with my whole heart. I can bear witness also 
to the humanity of slave-holders in the southern states, so 
far as my acquaintance and observation has extended. It has 
far exceeded the feeling which I have usually found indulg- 
ed towards blacks, in my native New England, or in the 
Middle States. The specimens of ill-treatment of slaves 
with which the world is served up, now and then, by the 
issuing of a new edition of the old stereotype form, and 
which seem to be but too well suited to the taste of a large 
portion of the community, are a wretched caricature, and as 
unfair specimens of the general treatment which slaves re- 
ceive, as would be the assassination and murder of an indi- 
vidual in this State, held up as a sample of Philadelphia 
morals. A much kindlier feeling, I am satisfied, is indulged 
towards blacks at the South, than at the North.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 85 



No plea for slavery in the abstract. 



CONVERSATION IX. 

" Frown indignantly on the first dawnings of every attempt to alienate any 
portion of our country from the rest, or enfeeble the sacred ties which now 
Jink together the various paTts."-^Washington. 

' There is a way, Pa,' said Caroline, the conversation 
being resumed, * which some people have, of talking of 
slaves as ^^ property,''^ which is exceeding grating to my 
ears, and at which my mind always revolts.' 

* As to that, my daughter,' said Mr. L., * if any man talks 
of this species of property as if it were his unqualified right 
to hold his fellow-men in bondage without any regard to the 
circumstances and necessity of the case, the whole civilized 
world, and the laws of Christian nations, which have pro- 
nounced the slave trade to he piracy, are against him. It is 
not often that we hear any man attempt to justify slavery in 
the abstract, or that we find one who looks upon his slaves 
in precisely the same light in which most people regarded 
them when the slave-trade was legitimate. 

* There are, I know, exceptions to the generally correct 
and Christian sentiments and declarations of distinguished 
men at the South on this subject. I have read with painful 
sensations remarks that have fallen from the lips of some. A 
Governor of South Carolina, in a message to the Legislature 
of that State, a few years since, says, " Slavery is not a na- 
tional evil; on the contrary it is a national benefit. * * * 
Slavery exists in some form every where, and it is not of 
much consequence, in a philosophical point of view, whether 
it be voluntary, or involuntary,^^ A Governor of the same 



86 f*lEA I'OR AFRICA. 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



State has recently used still stronger language in vindication 
of slavery. But such sentiments, I am inclined to consider 
as an anomaly, on the whole, and not a fair representation of 
the views of the South ; much less can they receive the ap- 
probation of the American people. The man who can utter 
them is far behind the age in which we live. I recollect also 
an address delivered in South Carohna, a few years since, 
by one of her distinguished sons, in which the speaker main- 
tained that slavery, as it exists in the southern states, is " no 
greater, or more unusual evil, than befalls the poor in general ; 
that its extinction would be attended with calamity to the 
country, and to the people connected with it, in every cha- 
racter and relation ; that no necessity exists for such extinc- 
tion ; that slavery is sanctioned by the Mosaic dispensation ; 
that it is fulfilment of the denunciation pronounced against 
the second son of Noah ; that it is not inconsistent with the 
genius and spirit of Christianity ; nor considered by St. Paul 
as a moral evil." I have also noticed the recent remarks 
upon the floors of Congress, of certain southern gentlemen ; 
and read several addresses lately delivered in various slave- 
holding states, some of which take the ground that slavery 
" is sanctioned by the religion of the Bible," as well as jus- 
tified in law ; and one declares " solemnly and emphatically," 
that " if any man at the South makes but a movement towards 
emancipation — equal or partial — immediate or remote, he is 
faithless to the duty which he owes to his state — faithless to 
the duty which he owes to his God." 

' Another specimen of southern views on the subject, may 
be found in a debate which I have before me, that occurred 
not long since in a synod of the Presbyterian Church in Vir- 
ginia. A proposition was before the Synod that " all the do- 
mestic relations, (meaning to include slavery,) stand upon 
precisely the same ground in Scripture." The Rev. Dr. H. 
expressed his astonishment at the views presented. He 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 87 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



** could not agree by any means, that the relation of master 
and slave is precisely the same as that of husband and wife. 
No, nor at all the same. The one is a natural relation, or- 
dained of God, and sanctioned by Him for the happiness of 
man ; but the other had its origin in injustice and wrong and 
is never sanctioned in the Bible ; unless allusions to it as an 
existing relation and a tolerated evil are so 7nisinterpreted/ 
But because it is an existing relation, does it follow that it 
has a basis like that of the relation of husband and wife ? 
God forbid ! The relations differ widely and essentially, not 
only in their nature, but also in the fact that one is perma- 
nent, and the other continues only by the strong necessity of 
the case. It is absurd to maintain that there is a precise 
similarity in the relations, either in their natural basis, or 
their perpetuity. I, for one, cannot consent to any phrase- 
ology which looks that way. It is unscriptural and false, 
I maintain that slavery conthtues only by necessity ; and 

that it OUGHT TO BE ABOLISHED AS SOON AS IT CAN BE, CON- 
SISTENTLY WITH THE GOOD OF ALL CONCERNED." 

' The Rev. Dr. B., who is a distinguished Professor in 
the Union Theological Seminary, was somewhat opposed to 
the views of his distinguished friend. He " denied that the 
relation is unlawful ; it is recognized by Scripture. The 
apostles treated it as a relation morally right, considering 
all the circumstances. Nor can any thing be done to coun- 
teract the incendiary efforts of fanaticism, until we take 
scriptural views of this subject, and maintain them from 
Scripture. It is also impossible to do much for the extensive 
rehgious instruction of the slaves themselves, unless they are 
made to understand that their masters have a scriptural right 
to maintain their authority. The public mind seems to be 
much shaken upon this subject, even in our own section of 
country. But it is a fact established by Scripture, that the 
master has a moral risfht to retain his relation to his slaves^ 



88 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



There are, however, reciprocal duties for each to perform, 
which are too commonly and fearfully neglected." 

' Another learned Doctor of divinity, the President of 
Hampden Sidney College, did " not think it necessary to 
take such ground. The truth is, that slavery is so much in- 
volved in the very texture of society, that immediate aboli- 
tion is an utter impossibility. Even supposing the existing 
relation to be sinful, yet the abolitionists are so wild in their 
mode of action, that they never can succeed. Nothing can 
be done in the way they are attempting. They do not seem 
to consider consequences at all, or to reflect that the subject 
has intricate relations, and many troublesome political and 
social bearings. On a certain occasion, it is said, an eacrle 
caught up an innocent lamb, and was flying off with its prey 
in the air, when suddenly the intelligent bird was convinced 
of its injustice; and, desirous of making immediate repara- 
tion, it let go its hold, and dashed the lamb's brains out ! 
Such is abolition benevolence !" 

' The Rev. Mr. L. insisted with much earnestness, that it 
was '* necessary to take the ground assumed by Dr. B., and 
by the paper read. The churches expect a full expression 
of sentiment on the part of pastors ; and it will not do to give 
the subject the go by, in the way intimated by the last 
speaker. It is not enough merely to denounce the abolition- 
ists, and to say that they are wrong. We ought to give the 
reasons of our difference of opinion, and to let them know- 
that we maintain our existing relations with the slaves, be- 
cause the Bible gives us authority to do it.'' 

* The Rev. Mr. S. said, " the paper which has been read 
goes too far. It extenuates slavery, and leaves false im- 
pressions upon the mind. I justify slavery, not^from Scrip- 
ture, but from circumstances. Slavery is a moral evil, and 
ought to be done away as soon as possible. Better con- 
tend for immediate emancipation, than for perpetual servi- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. §9 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



tude. The actual degraded condition of the African race is 
the only reason why slavery ought not to be abolished this 
very hour. Ethiopia must one day stretch forth her hands 
unto the Lord, and my prayer is, that that time may speedily 
come I Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are the 
right of all; and can only be taken away by the claims of a 
harsh and stern necessity. Something ought to be done at 
once, and effectually, for the amelioration of the condition of 
the slaves. But let not this Synod, even in appearance, 
assume principles which justify the perpetuity of slaverv." 

' The Rev. Mr. W. said, " that to his mind two things 
were perfecdy clear: 1st. The relation of master and slave 
is justified by Scripture. The Holy Spirit has marked out 
the existence of that relation. 2d. Our Saviour and his 
apostles never intended to interfere with the civil relations 
of society, except by the silent influence of religion upon 
the heart and life. Whenever an attempt has been made to 
force mankind, in anticipation of the preparation which can 
only be effected by the gospel, harm has always been done- 
I cannot but think that the views expressed in the paper are, 
in the main, correct." 

'The Rev. Mr. T., another Professor in the Theologi- 
cal Seminary, would " never interfere in a political way 
with any matter ; but would touch the subject in a scrip- 
tural way. This is a Bible question. Slavery has bearings 
upon very important actual duties in life, for which the Bible 
provides. The uhimate influence of the gospel will change 
the order of society ; but it will be only when all parties 
are willing that the change should take place, and then who 
will complain ? The Bible has power to break every un- 
holy bond, and to set every thing right in society. If any 
think slavery will be eternal, I differ very much from them. 
Nor does the paper, which has been read, contain any senti- 
ment implvinsf a desire \o perpetuate slavery.'' 

g2 



90 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



' The Rev. Mr» A., now one of the Secretaries of the 
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 
believed " that rash and bold assertions have unsettled the 
minds of many Christians in reference to slavery." He was 
for adopting a circular letter, giving a scriptural view of the 
subject. " The Bible, no doubt, tolerates the existing re- 
lation, in view of the circumstances of the case.'''' 

' W. M. Esq., a distinguished lawyer, and elder of the 
church, remarked that he was " by no means satisfied with 
the spirit and principles of the paper. To say that slavery 
stands upon precisely the same ground M'ith the other social 
relations, is to my mind very far from being precisely 
true." 

' *'Such views leave the impression that slavery may con- 
tinue an indefinite period, without sin. For if the Bible sanc- 
tions it, the thing is morally right ; and if morally right, we 
are under no obligations to remove it. But is this scripture ? 
Must we sit still, and do nothing for the removal of this cry- 
ing evil ? Must we wait for some miraculous interposition 
of divine agency ? With the Bible in our hands, no one 
can doubt that slavery is inconsistent with its spirit and its 
precepts ; and we are bound, therefore, to aim at emancipa- 
tion. Lord Chatham once said, that he would never come 
into parliament, with the statute book doubled down with 
dog's ears to prove that liberty was the birth-right of British 
subjects. Nor will I, cried Mr. Maxwell, come into this 
Synod, with my Bible doubled doivn in dog's ears, to prove 
that slavery is wrong. No, sir, I will not undertake such a 
work of supererogation ! One need read but the first chap- 
ter in the word of God to be convinced that slavery is wrong. 
How was man created ? With dominion over the soul and 
body of his fellow-man ? No ! There was no slavery in 
Eden. Nor would there have been any to curse the earth, 
unless Satan had prevailed in the temptation. It is prepos- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 91 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



terous to go to the Bible to defend slavery. Its universal 
spirit is against the institution, gloriously against it ! But some 
have said, that although slavery is wrong in the abstract, yet 
circumstances have made it morally right. This phraseolo- 
gy. Sir, I object to. That which is once wrongs can never 
become morally right. It never can become right in such a 
sense as releases us from obligations to attempt the removal 
of the original evil. It never can become morally right, in 
the common acceptation of the phrase. The most we can 
say of it is, that it may be tolerated on account of an impe- 
rious and dreadful necessity. To say that slavery is moral- 
ly right, would be a virtual abrogation of the law of love. 
Yet, whilst I deny that slavery can be said to be morally 
right, I maintain the existence of a necessity, which palliates, 
under the circumstances, the temporary continuance of the 
relation. But mark ! I found my position not on Scripture, 
nor on the moral lawfulness of slavery ; but simply on the 
fact of a necessity. To illustrate my idea : Killing a man 
in the abstract is wrong, just as slavery is. And yet I may 
kill a man in a particular case of self-defence. Circuni' 
s^a;ice5 justify me ; self-preservation is a valid plea. And 
yet I may wilfully kill no man, if I can avoid it. I am 
bound to use every means to release myself from the neces- 
sity of taking the life of a human being. So it is with 
slavery. I have no right before God or men to keep my 
fellow man in bondage, except in view of the pecuhar exi- 
gency. I may not rest satisfied while he is deprived" of his 
liberty. I am bound to make every effort for his deliver- 
ance ; and unless I do my best to get rid of the necessity, I 
am guilty of the sin of unjustifiable slavery — ^just as much 
as in other circumstances, I would be guilty of unjustifiable 
homicide. But if I am aiming at emancipation, and doing 
that which is ' just and right' to my slaves, I may, during 
the interval preserve my authority over them. It is the die- 



92 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Sentiments of Southern men. 



tate of self-preservation, as well as the impulse of benevo- 
lence, to do so. 

' " We must try to get rid of slavery. We have no right 
to cling to our slaves, under the delusion that the Scripture 
justifies the system as morally right. By colonization we 
can rescue many from their servile degradation. And if any 
other rational plan of emancipation is practicable, we are 
under obligations which no man may disregard with impu- 
nity, to embrace the occasion, and let the oppressed go free. 
In regard to immediate abolition," said Mr. M., " but one 
single opinion can flash through the minds of this assem- 
bly. It is a scheme of destruction and ruin. It is casting 
off the slave to let him sink. It is adding death to injustice, 
murder to oppression. God forbid that we should add this 
to our sins ! But whilst I condemn the immediate abolition 
scheme, I cannot sanction the principles contained in the 
paper which has led to this discussion. Such principles, in- 
stead of tranquillizing Christians, would only disturb them 
the more ; because their consciences will not stay tranquil- 
lized. Slavery is abhorrent to the enlightened con- 
science, and all efforts to give it false peace, would, in the 
end, only increase its agitations. I am satisfied that Southern 
Christians will not receive such principles ; let not the 
Synod of this ancient commonwealth sanction any principles 
which seem to justify slavery, especially from Scripture. 
Let us tell the world that we abhor the system, and only 
justify its continuance amongst us by an imperious neces- 
sity, which our feeble hands cannot now control. God for- 
bid that we should assume a position, favorable even in ap- 
pearance, to the perpetuity of human bondage !" 

* I have thus occupied your attention by this debate at some 
length, because I think it but a fair expression of southern 
views and feelings genefally on the subject of slavery. I 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 93 

Sentiments of Southern men. 

need hardly say that the proposition which gave rise to the 
debate was rejected. 

' There are, it is to be supposed, some whose rashness is 
greater than their judgment, who recklessly assert principles 
which would find few advocates among the virtuous or consi- 
derate any where ; but I am persuaded that there is a more 
correct sentiment prevailing at the South among the enlight- 
ened and influential part of the community than is generally 
supposed, and perhaps than might be inferred from this de- 
bate. Otherwise, we might have less hope for the slave ; 
greater fear for our country : and be led to endorse in despair 
the words of the poet, 

" Yet, yet, degraded men ! the expected day 
That breaks your bitter cup is far away ; 
Trade, wealth, and fashion, ask you still to bleed. 
And holy men give Scripture for the deed." 

* But to show what have been the sentiments of the South 
on this subject, still more clearly, and what are the views 
which, we may expect, still prevail, I will also refer to other 
instances. 

' Says one who has stood high in public confidence at 
the South, " Almost all masters in Virginia assent to the 
proposition, that when the slaves can be liberated without 
danger to themselves^ and to their own advantage, it 
OUGHT TO BE DONE." He adds, " If there are few who think 
otherwise in Virginia, I feel assured there are few such any 
where at the South." 

' It was the language of Patrick Henry, " It would re- 
joice my very soul, that every one of my fellow-beings was 
emancipated. As we ought, with gratitude, to admire that 
decree of heaven which has numbered us among the free, we 
ought to lament and deplore the necessity of holding our fel- 
low-men in bondage." 

* Said Zachariah Johnson, in the same debate before the 



94 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Views and feelings of distinguished Southrons. 



legislature of Virginia, when the distinguished Patrick 
Henry uttered the above, — " Slavery has been the founda- 
tion of that impiety, and dissipation, which have been so 
much disseminated among our countrymen. If it were to- 
tally abolished, it would do much good. * * The princi- 
ple (of emancipation) has begun, since the Revolution ; let us 
do what we will, it will come round." 

' Gov. Randolph, in the same debate, approved the hope 
" that those unfortunate men, held in bondage, might, by the 
operation of the general government, be made free." 

* Judge Tucker, in 1795, wrote — "The introduction of 
slavery into this country, is, at this day, considered among 
its greatest misfortunes." In 1803 he wrote — " Will not 
our posterity execrate the memory of those ancestors, who, 
having it in their power to avert evil, have, like their 
first parents, entailed a curse upon all future generations ? 
What a blood-stained code that must be, which is calculated 
for the restraint of millions held in bondage. Such must 
our unhappy country exhibit, unless we are both wise and 
just enough to avert from posterity the calamity and reproach 
which are otherwise unavoidable." 

* Gen. Washington, in a letter to Robert Morris, dated 
April 12, 1786, says " There is not a man living, who 
wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for 
the abolition of slavery ; but there is only one proper and 
effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is 
by legislative authority ; and this, as far as my suffrage will 
go, shall never be wanting." Again, in a letter to the Mar- 
quis de La Fayette, May 10, 1786, he writes, " The bene- 
volence of your heart, my dear Marquis, is so conspicuous 
on all occasions, that I never wonder at any fresh proofs of 
it ; but your late purchase of an estate in the colony of 
Cayenne, with a view of emancipating the slaves on it, is a 
generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God 



fLEA FOR AFRICA. 95 



Southern views. 



a like spirit might diffuse itself generally into the minds of 
the people of this country. * * Some petitions were pre- 
sented to the assembly, at its last session, for the abolition 
of slavery, but they could scarcely obtain a reading. To 
set the slaves afloat at once would, I really believe, be pro- 
ductive of much inconvenience and mischief ; but, by de- 
grees, it certainly might, and assuredly ought, to be effected ; 
and that too by legislative authority." Again, in a letter to 
John F. Mercer, September 9, 1786, " I never mean, un- 
less some particular circumstance should compel me to it, to 
possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first 
wishes to see some plan adopted, by which slavery in this 
country may be abolished by law." 

* Mr. Jefferson asks, *' Can the liberties of a nation be 
thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, 
a conviction in the minds of the people, that their liberties 
are the gift of God ?" 

* Judge Washington, in a speech before the Colonization 
Society, expressed the decided hope that colonization " would 
lead to the slow, but gradual abolition of slavery," and 
"wipe from our political institutions, the only blot which 
stains them." 

' Gen. Harper has spoken of slavery as " a great moral 
and political evil, of increasing virulence and extent, from 
which much mischief is now felt, and very great calamity in 
future, is jusdy apprehended." 

* Gen. Mercer remarks, " The hope of the gradual and 
utter abolition of slavery, in a manner consistent with the 
rights, interests, and happiness of society, ought never to be 
abandoned." 

' W. H. FiTZHUGH, Esq., who proved the sincerity of his 
remarks, by the prospective liberation of all his slaves, and a 
liberal provision for them in Liberia, bears this testimony — 
" Slavery, in its mildest form, is an evil of the darkest cha- 



96 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Southern views. 



racter. Cruel and unnatural in its origin, no plea can be 
urged in justification of its continuance but the plea of ne- 
cessity — the necessity which requires us to submit to exist- 
ing evils, rather than substitute by their removal, others of a 
more serious and destructive character. There is no rivetted 
attachment to slavery prevailing extensively, in any portion 
of our country. Its injurious effects on our habits, our 
morals, our individual wealth, and more especially on our 
national strength and prosperity, are universally felt, and al- 
most universally acknowledged." 

* William Gaston, of North Carolina, formerly a distin- 
guished member of Congress, and now on the bench of the 
Supreme Court of that State, in an address before a literary 
and philanthropic society in the University of North Caro- 
lina, in 1832, says — " On you will devolve the duty which 
has been too long neglected, but which cannot with impunity 
be neglected much longer, of providing for the mitigation, 
and, is it too much to hope for in North Carohna ? for the 
ultimate extirpation of the worst evil that afflicts the southern 
part of our confederacy. * * Disguise the truth as we 
may, and throw the blame where we will, it is slavery 
which, more than any other cause, keeps us back in the ca- 
reer of improvement." * * " How this evil is to be en- 
countered, how subdued, is indeed a difficult and delicate in- 
quiry." 

* Col. Drayton', of South Carolina, in the course of an 
elaborate speech in Congress, not long since, sketched a pic- 
ture of slavery, and a brief of the views of the South, which 
was reported in the words following. Col. Drayton was 
ever regarded as not only a man of distinguished talents, but 
as remarkable for his candor, excellent judgment, and honoi- 
able feelings. " There was not a person who more deeply 
commiserated slaves than he did ; but while their pillows are 
planted with thorns, their masters do not repose on downy 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 97 



Misrepresentations and unkind remarks. 



beds. The miseries extended to the whole circle of society 
in which they move. He spoke from actual experience of 
these miseries. Could he destroy the evil, no zealous fanatic 
would more easily try to extirpate it than his fellow-citizens 
of the South and himself. None know more the misery of 
slavery than those who hold slaves. Slavery is indeed a 
bitter draught, and though thousands are made to drink of it, 
yet still it is a bitter draught. Such are the peculiar habits 
of slaves, that they will enjoy the song and the dance, and 
spend the night in revelry and feasting, while the master is 
stretched on a sleepless couch. Would one feeling thus 
wish to perpetuate the evil ! Let not such a mistake prevail. 
It is the interest of the master to ameliorate the condition of 
the slaves as much as he can ; and those mistaken philanthro- 
pists who, without understanding the situation of that part of 
the country, intrude their efforts at amelioration, only make 
the condition of the slave more wretched. No one can ad- 
minister successfully to a disease who is ignorant of its cha- 
racter. No one can beneficially prescribe, who is ignorant 
of the effect of the medicine he administers. The citizens of 
the South know how far to go with safety to themselves, and 
he who ignorantly interferes, converts intended benefits into 
serious injuries. The southern citizens know, but they suffer 
none others to interfere. Interference they consider as an 
injury, and are disposed to resent it as an insult. When 
gentlemen talk of government having a right to interfere, 
they speak without proper consideration." 

* Such are the opinions of gentlemen of eminent talents, all 
of whom are, or were, of the South ; most of whom, if not 
all, have been extensive proprietors of slaves. I may here 
also quote the sentiments and words of that distinguished 
son of the AVest, and brilliant statesman, Henry Clay. He 
says, '* There are two extremes of opinion on this subject, 



96 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Severity of remark unwise. 

in neither of which do I concur. The first is that of those 
who regard slavery as no evil, but a good. I consider slavery 
as a curse — a curse to the master, a wrong, a grievous wrong 
to the slave. In the abstract, it is all wrong ; and no possible 
contingency can make it right. It is condemned by all our 
notions of natural justice, and our maxims of natural political 
equality among men. Necessity, a stern political necessity 
alone, can excuse or justify it; a necessity arising from the 
fact that to give freedom to our slaves that they might remain 
with us, would he doing them an injury rather than a bene- 
Jit — would render their condition worse than it is at present." 
' It certainly becomes us to be open to conviction, and 
willing to receive the truth. It is a great misfortune, grow- 
ing out of the actual condition of the several states, some 
being exempt from, and others liable to, the evils of slavery, 
that they are too prone to misrepresent the views and wishes 
of each other in respect to it.' 

* In some publications, Pa,' said Caroline, * which Henry 
and I have been looking over since these conversations began, 
we have seen some very unkind remarks respecting the 
South, calculated to wound the feelings of her citizens deep- 
ly, and exceeding severe on some of the gentlemen whose 
language you have quoted. In a certain paper, the writer, 
having selected certain passages from the writings of such 
men as Mr. Clay, Gen. Harper, Gen. Mercer, Mr. Harrison, 
President Caldwell, and others, exclaims — '* Ye crafty cal- 
culators ! ye hard-hearted, incorrigible sinners ! ye greedy 
and relentless robbers ! ye contemners of justice and mercy! 
ye trembling, pitiful, pale-faced usurpers ! my soul spurns 
you with unspeakable disgust^ I cannot think that good 
men, even among abolitionists, can approve of this lan- 
guage ?' 

* Such severity of denunciation against those who are 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 99 



Introduction of slavery. 



among the wisest and best men of the country,' remarked 
Mr. L., < is wrong, very wrong ; and I cannot think it is ap- 
proved by any considerable portion of the community. The 
writer is deserving of reprehension. His course will rivet 
the chains of slavery, not loose them. It were well for our 
country, and better for our colored population, especially for 
the slaves, if, in regard to this whole matter, every citizen 
were to cherish kindly and charitable feelings. The last 
advice of our illustrious Washington was, "Frown indig- 
nantly ON THE FIRST DAWNINGS OF EVERY ATTEMPT TO ALI- 
ENATE ANY PORTION OF OUR COUNTRY FROM THE REST, OR 
ENFEEBLE THE SACRED TIES WHICH NOW LINK TOGETHER THE 
VARIOUS PARTS." ' 



CONVERSATION X. 

" We determined not to suffer slavery there ; but the slave merchants and 
their adherents occasioned us not only much trouble, but at last got the then 
government to sanction them. We would not suffer slavery, (which is 
against the gospel, as well as the fundamental law of England,) to be au- 
thorized under our authority; we refused, as trustees, to make a law permit- 
ting such a horrid crime. The government, finding the trustees resolved 
firmly not to concur with what they thought unjust, took away the charter 
by which no law could be passed without our consent." — Oglethorpe. 

* Good morning, my daughter — good morning, Henry,' 
said Mr. L., as he entered the parlor, quite early in the morn- 
ing, ' shall we now, although earlier than our usual hour for 
conversation, turn our attention again, for a few minutes, to 
the subject of Africa's wrongs, and the unfortunate relation 
to lier children, into which our country has been introduced 
by the policy of England, and the cupidity of her traders in 
human flesh ? I think we shall have an hour before the time 
for family prayer.' 



Lof^ 



100 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Virginia opposed to slavery. 



Caroline and Henry were both pleased with the proposi- 
tion. * Will you tell us, Pa,' said C, * at what time slaves 
were first brought to this country, and where they were sold. 
I shall be gratified to be more familiar with the facts that as- 
sure us that our country is not responsible for the original 
introduction of slavery to the western world.' 

* It will give me pleasure to gratify your wishes in this 
respect. The first shipment of slaves to our country, was 
on the very year that the " Pilgrim fathers" of New England, 
as the first settlers of New England are called, first stepped 
upon Plymouth Rock, and thirteen years after the first set- 
tlement on the James river. The " cargo !" was landed at 
Jamestown, and sold to the planters of Virginia. It consisted 
of twenty Africans from the coast of Guinea, brought to the 
colony in a Dutch vessel, under the sanction and by the au- 
thority of British laws. Although by the purchase of these 
and other slaves which soon followed, individuals lent them- 
selves to the oppression of Africa's unhappy children, it is 
due to the colonial ancestry of Virginia to say that they, at a 
very early period, earnestly remonstrated against these im- 
portations. Their appeals to the British crown, were loud 
and frequent, but unsuccessful. They had no voice in the 
government under whose laws slavery was introduced, and 
no control over its decisions. Therefore I have said that we 
are not responsible, as a nation, for the introduction of the 
trade. The origin of slavery in our land is to be referred to 
the agency of a foreign government, and the evil of slavery 
considered as an incumbrance connected with our English 
inheritance. It should be mentioned also to the credit of 
Virginia, that the legislature of that colony, at an early pe- 
riod, enacted laws to counteract the evil, by imposing re- 
strictions on the introduction of slaves ; and that it is, at the 
same time, a matter of history by no means honorable to the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 1 01 



The first Slave-ship. 



mother country, that those measures of the colony were dis- 
countenanced, and the laws which the legislature enacted, 
rejected by government as injurious to the commerce of 
England. Thus slavery, with all its unhappy consequences, 
was entailed upon the colonies to promote the supposed in- 
terests of England. It should be understood, moreover, that 
this very conduct of the British crown is a grievance set forth 
in the Declaration of our Independence among the causes of 
the Revolution.' 

' Do you recollect, Caroline,' said Henry, * those lines by 
Mrs. Sigourney, entitled The First Slave-ship V 

* I do not ; but I should like to hear them. I admire 
Mrs. S.'s poetical genius ; and take the more interest in every 
thing from her pen since she is the acquaintance and very 
esteemed friend of our dear mother.' 

" First of that race which curst the wave, 

And from his rifled cabin bore» 
Inheritor of wo, the slave 

To bless his palm-tree's shade no morel 

Dire engine I o'er the trouble main 

Borne on in unresisted state, 
Know'st thou within thy dark domain, 

The horrors of thy prison'd freight T 

The fetter'd chieftain'^s burning tear, 

The parted lovers' mute despair, 
The childless mother's pang severe, 

The orphan's agony, are there. 

Hear'st thou their moans whom hope has fled,. 

Wild cries and agonizdng starts ? 
Baiow'st thou thy hurried sails are spread 

With ceaseless sighs from breaking hearts V 

Oh ! could'st thou from the scroll of fate 

The miseries read of future years, 
Stripes, tortures, unrelenting hate. 

And death-gasps drown'd in ceaseless teats.; 
h2 



102 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Early date of slavery in Africa. 

Down, down, beneath the cleaving main 
Thou fain would'st plunge where monsters lie, 

Rather than ope the gates of pain 
For time, and for eternity. 

Oh Afric' I what has been thy crime, 

That thus like Eden's fratricide, 
A mark is set upon thy clime. 

And every brother shuns thy side? 

Yet are thy wrongs, thou long distrest. 

Thy burden by the world unweigh'd. 
Safe in that unforgetful breast, 

Where all the sins of earth are laid. 

The sun upon thy forehead frown'd. 

But man, more cruel far than he, 
Dark fetters on thy spirit bound ; 

Look to the mansion of the free ! 

Look up, to realms where chains unbind, 
Where powerless falls the threatening rod. 

And where the patient sufferers find 
A Friend — a Father in their GOD." 

' Oh ! it makes my heart bleed,' said CaroUne, ' to think 
of the evils of which that first slave-ship was the precursor 
to our country ; and of the wrongs which from that ill-fated 
hour that the cruel Dutchman found a market for his injured 
fellow-men, have been so unsparingly meted out to Africa 
by citizens of this highly-favored land. How I wish the 
purchase had never been made.' 

' Were the Dutch the first people who engaged in the 
traffic, Pa V 

' No, Henry, slavery existed in Africa, long before the 
transportation of slaves from Africa to this or to any coun- 
try.' 

' It was in Africa that Joseph became the slave of Poti- 
phar; and the Egyptians, you know, Henry, enslaved 
Israel,' said Caroline. * When I think of these things, the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 103 



Foreign traffic in slaves. 



thought occurs sometimes, that it is possible that Africans 
may again have their day of prosperity, and the whites, who 
are now their oppressors, may in their turn become slaves.' 

' It is too near tlie dawn of a happier day, I trust, for 
such apprehensions to be realized ; but, my daughter, if such 
an event were to occur, think you there would not be one 
mind among us in regard to the evils of slavery ? The pre- 
judices which now blind the minds of many, that they can 
hardly see any injustice in slavery, would all be removed. 

* The practice of holding slaves, I was remarking, exist- 
ed in Africa, long before slaves were transported thence to 
foreign countries. The Moors of Spain and Portugal, pro- 
bably acquired the practice from the Mahometans in the North 
of Africa ; and as evil communications and examples always 
have a corrupting tendency, the practice of employing and 
owning slaves soon prevailed among both the Portuguese and 
the Spaniards, and then among other nations. 

* The commencement of the traffic in African slaves, by 
foreign countries, was probably in the year 1454 ; when 
Henry, King of Portugal, under authority from the Roman 
Pontiff, took possession of several islands and harbors on the 
coast, and from thence making descents on the swarming 
villages of Africa, seized the unsuspecting inhabitants and 
carried them into slavery. It would seem, from what, of 
the history of the slave-trade, I have been able to trace, that 
in 1481, the natives having become terrified by the frequent 
depredations committed upon them, retired into the interior. 
Their invaders finding it difficult, therefore, to obtain slaves 
in so great numbers and so expeditiously as they desired, a 
treaty was made through the influence of bribes and pre- 
sents, between the traders and African chiefs, the chiefs en- 
gaging to furnish subjects for the inhuman traffic. Wars be- 
tween different tribes, man-stealing, treachery and distrust, 



104 PLEA FOH AFRICA. 



Slaves introduced into Hispaniola. 



misery and ruin, have been, thenceforward, the consequence j 
and slavery has been the systematized business of the several 
tribes. 

' The Portuguese have the credit, in history, of com- 
mencing the unhallowed traffic, and of introducing slavery 
into this Western world. In 1508, slaves w^ere carried into 
Hispaniola, or Little Spain, as it was called by Columbus ; 
now St. Domingo, one of the West India Islands : and in 
the year 1517, slaves were introduced into the Brazilian 
colonies in South America. 

* It is said that the project of transporting slaves from Af- 
rica to the New World, was first suggested by Bartholemi 
de Las Casas, a Romish Priest. Previous to this time, ad- 
venturers to the Western continent and the Islands along the 
Atlantic coast, had, with extreme cruelty, reduced to servi- 
tude the confiding and unofi'ending Indians, the natives of 
the soil. The cruelty with which they treated the Indians, 
unaccustomed to such usage or to any confinement or priva- 
tions, was very great. It is supposed that when the Spa- 
niards discovered the Island of Hispaniola, there were on it, 
at least a million of inhabitants, (Las Casas thmks there 
were three millions,) formed into kingdoms, and each go- 
verned by sovereigns called Caciques. Such was the cru- 
elty shown them by the Spaniards, that they were reduced 
to sixty thousand souls, in the short space of fifteen years ; 
and from the year 1508 to the year 1517, they were further 
reduced by brutal oppression from sixty thousand to fourteen 
thousand ! A formal decree of the king of Spain had au- 
thorized this oppression of the natives, declaring " that the 
servitude of the Indians (was) tear ranted by the laws both 
of God and man.'" ^ 

* A part of the system of cruelty carried on against these 
poor Indians,' said Caroline, ' was the hunting of them with. 
blood-hounds, was it not?' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 105 



Origin of slavery in America. 



* It was ; and these, I am sorry to say, were introduced by 
Columbus, who was in other respects a good and great man. 
Finding the natives determined to resist the oppressions of 
his soldiery, he determined on their extinction, and went 
forth against them with all his strength. The historian 
says that a " part of the force employed by Columbus on 
this occasion consisted of blood-hoimds, which made great 
havoc among the native Indians." Las Casas says, in relat- 
ing subsequent events in Cuba : " In three or four months, 
I saw more than seven thousand children die of hunger, 
whose fathers and mothers had been dragged away to work 
in the mines. I was witness at the same time of other cru- 
dities not less horrible. It was resolved to march against the 
Indians, who had fled to the mountains. They were chased 
like wild beasts, with the assistance of blood-hounds, who 
had been trained to the thirst for human blood."* You re- 



* The circumstances attending the introduction of dogs into the South 
American continent and islands, and iheir subsequent wild state, are thus 
described in The History of the Buccaneers : " But here the curious reader 
may, perhaps, inquire, how so many wild dogs came here. The occasion 
was, the Spaniards having possessed these isles, found them peopled with 
Indians, a barbarous people, sensual and brutish, hating all labor, and only 
inclined to killing, and making war against their neighbors, not out of ambi- 
tion, but only because they agreed not with themselves in some common 
terms of language ; and perceiving the dominion of the Spaniards laid great 
restrictions upon their lazy and brutish customs, they conceived an irrecon- 
cileable hatred against them, but especially because they saw them take 
possession of their kingdoms and dominions; hereupon they made against 
them all the resistance they could, opposing every where their designs to 
the utmost; and the Spaniards finding themselves cruelly haled by the 
Indians, and nowhere secure from their treacheries, resolved to extirpate 
and ruin them, since they could neither tame them by civility, nor conquer 
them with the sword. But the Indians, it being their custom to make their 
woods their chief places of defence, at present made these their refuge, 
whenever they fled from the Spaniards ; hereupon those first conquerors of the 
New World made use of dogs to range and search the intricatest thickets of 
woods and forests, for those their implacable and unconquerable enemies; 
thus they forced them to leave their old refuge, and submit to the sword, see- 
ing no milder usage would do it; hereupon they killed some of them, and 
quartering their bodies, placed them in the high-ways, that others mighl 
take warning from such a punishment; but this severity proved of ill corv 
sequence : for, instead of frighting them and reducing them to civility, they 
conceived such horror of the Spaniards, that they reselved to detest and fly 
their sight for ever; hence, the greatest part died in caves and subterrane- 



106 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Origin of slavery in America. 



collect the revolting description which Lord Byron gives of 
the fierceness and rapacity of these animals, when they have 
once acquired a fondness for human flesh : 

*' He saw the lean dogs beneath the wall, 
\ Hold o'er the dead their carnival, 

Gorging and growling o'er carcase and limb — 
They were too busy to bark at him, 
From a Tartar's skull they had stript the flesh, 
As ye pull the fig when the fruit is fresh. 
The scalps were in the wild dog's maw, 
The hair was tangled round his jaw." 

' Las Casas, with the support of other ecclesiastics, de- 
voted his life to endeavor the amelioration of the condi- 
tion of these poor oppressed Indians. He crossed the At- 
lantic for the purpose again and again. He braved alt dan- 
gers, and shrunk from no fatigue in their behalf, but unceas- 
ingly urged their claims at the Spanish court. In his sym- 
pathy for one class of his fellow-men, however, Las Casas 
forgot or disregarded the rights of another class. From at 
least mistaken motives of humanity, he finally proposed to 
Uie Emperor, Charles V., a project to import slaves from 
Africa, representing that the warm climate of the Soutli 
would be congenial to their natures, and that thus the labors 
of the surviving Indians might be greatly relieved. This 
project, unfortunately, was adopted, and laid the foundation 
of African slavery in the Western World. 

' The condition of the poor Indians, however, was by no 
means bettered. The Bishop of Chiapa, I mean Las Casas, 
had the mortification to find the chains which it was the ob' 



ous places of woods and mountains, in which places I myself have often 
seen great numbers of human bones. The Spaniards, finding no more In- 
dians to appear about the woods, turned away a great number of dogs they 
had in their houses, and they finding no masters to keep them, betook them- 
selves to the woods and fields to hunt for food to preserve their lives; thus, 
by degrees, they became unacquainted wilh houses and grew wild. This 
is the truest account I can give of the multitudes of wild dogs in these- 
paclSx" 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 107 



Mistaken philanthropy of Las Casas. 



ject of his life to break, rivetted more firmly, whilst the poor 
Africans became, through his influence, fellow-suflerers with 
the Indians in slavery ! The final and mournful history of 
these Indians, has been written, in one sentence, by the bio- 
grapher of Columbus. Says Irving, '* They have long since 
passed away, pining and perishing beneath the domination 
of the strangers, whom they welcomed so joyfully to their 
shores," 

* The error of Las Casas, is one into which even good 
men, of ardent temperament and philanthropic minds, may 
sometimes fall, impressed with the importance of a subject 
which enlists the best feelings of human nature. They may 
take too limited and partial a view of the subject, and lose 
sight of important connexions and incidental circumstances, 
in their devoted attention to the single object which absorbs 
their immediate sympathies.' 

Caroline here suggested, * It would be extremely unfortu- 
nate if by any imprudent, or misdirected zeal, we should be 
guilty of a similar error, in attempting to better the condition 
of the enslaved Africans in our land, and should thus bring 
down upon them and our country greater evils than we are 
striving to avert. This, I should infer, is feared by some. 
You, I think, intimated, some time since, that harsh and 
censorious language, and coercive measures, have that ten- 
dency.' 

* We cannot, with propriety, or with good hope of safety 
or success, be indifferent to consequences ; or refuse to take 
counsel of circumstances, in determining the best way of 
promoting any cause, however good. Nothing, surely, is 
to be gained by indulging in contemptuous, acrimonious, or 
threatening language, towards our southern brethren, in 
regard to slavery. They, it is to be presumed, know as 
well as we, the tremendous evils of slavery, and are far more 



108 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The plea of political necessity often abused. 



deeply concerned than we in an application of the proper 
remedy. The course which is sometimes taken in regard to 
this subject, is not fraternal, and therefore neither politic nor 
wise. Language that is calculated unnecessarily to wound, 
and consequently to destroy harmony of feeling, sentiment 
and action, on this important subject, should be carefully 
avoided. Besides, it should be considered that no measures 
can tend to the ultimate benefit of the slaves, in which the 
slave-holders do not generally and heartily concur. The best 
interests of slave and master are probably more identified 
with each other, and involved, than is generally imagined. 
There are circumstances which render entire and immediate 
emancipation ruinous to both master and slave ; and there 
are circumstances which are felt also at the South, that render 
it greatly desirable to the master that slavery should end. 

* At the same time that I make these remarks, I must also 
say that no pretence of political necessity, can plead a valid 
excuse for those who would perpetrate any wrongs whatever. 
The butchery by wholesale, (for it was litde better than 
wholesale butchery,) of the poor Indians in Hispaniola, was 
pursued under a most execrable pretence, that of political ne- 
cessity. And in the same plea, almost every public crime 
which has disgraced our race, and made the world an arena 
of strife, a field of blood, has found its constant defence. 
That whole policy I would repudiate, and utterly detest. 
There may be circumstances, however, which render it an 
imperious duty, doubdess, in aiming even to redress the 
wrongs that have been done, to inquire seriously and prayer- 
fully into the best manner, and the most probably successful 
means of redress. Many in our land profess to find them- 
selves precisely in this situation in respect to the slave ques- 
tion. The evil, say they, is entailed upon our country as a 
heavy curse ; and how to bring about its final removal in a 



FLEA FOR AFRICA. lOtI 



Must not take advantage of our own wrong. 



way that shall be best for the slave, and best for the country, 
is a question of most difficult solution. By all, its importance 
is confessed to be great. In the view of many of the most 
energetic friends of Africa, it assumes a magnitude and com- 
plicateness which causes the deepest anxiety. In my own 
view, it is a question which may well task the wisdom of 
the wise, and give ample scope to the benevolence of the 
humane.' 

* Why, Pa, to plead for perpetuating slavery on the 
ground that our own interests require it, since the system is 
established, would be to take advantage of our own wrong, 
I hope that slavery will soon be viewed by all as an evil that 
calls loudly for redress, and that our country will yet unite 
in some measures to free our land from the reproach of slave- 
ry, letting the oppressed go free. I feel great confidence, 
since these conversations began, that this consummation will 
be brought about. The subject has assumed, in many im- 
portant respects, an entirely new aspect, in my humble 
view. The evils of slavery magnify, and the ^^ quo modo^^'^ 
as Henry says, seems to be attended with very embarrassing 
considerations, when we contemplate the extinction of the 
evil. But slavery, it appears to me, must cease ; Christians 
cannot, must not cease to pray and labor for its extinction.' 



no PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

All Christendom has been engaged in the trade. 



CONVERSATION XI. 



" It is the very madness of mock prudence to oppose the removal of a 
poisoned dish, on account of the pleasant sauces, or nutritious viands Avhich 
would be lost with it." — Coleridge. 

' In our last conversation, we noticed briefly the com- 
mencement of the African slave-trade. The English and 
other nations in succession followed the example of Portugal 
and Spain, and engaged in the horrid traffic. More than 
three centuries, until lately, some of the Christian powers of 
Europe have been engaged in it ; and, for more than a cen- 
tury and a half, it was prosecuted by all Christendom, with- 
out hesitancy or remorse. The English, the Dutch, the 
French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and the Danes, have 
all engaged in the traffic. 

' The French Guinea-Company contracted, in 1702, to 
supply the Spanish West Indies with 38,000 negroes, in ten 
years. In 1713, a treaty was made between England and 
Spain, for the importation of 144,000 negroes, in thirty years. 
From 1768 to 1786, one hundred thousand slaves were an- 
nually exported from Africa. In 1786, England alone em- 
ployed in the traffic 130 ships. 

' Some have estimated the whole number of slaves ex- 
ported from Africa since the origin of the trade, at nearly 
20,000,000. Certain it is, that the most potent nations of 
the earth, have seemed to vie with each other in this fiend- 
ish work.' 

* And yet, Pa, these nations call themselves civilized and 
Christian !' 

* Yes, it is a painful reflection, as it is an indelible re- 
proach, that for so long a time, the intercourse of Christian 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. Ill 

— 
Africans have been led to identify Christianity with cruelty and perfidy. 

nations with Africa, instead of imparting the blessings of 
civilization and religion, has tended only to destroy the hap- 
piness of Africa and debase its character/ 

* The Africans surely cannot have conceived a very fa- 
vorable impression respecting either our religion or our hu- 
manity V 

' The treatment which they have received, it is said, had 
caused them to identify Christianity with perfidy and cruelty, 
until recent efforts were made to colonize Africa with free- 
men, and to civilize and christianize that dark continent by 
means of colonization. Mr. Newton, who, you know, re- 
sided for a time in Africa, and was engaged in the slave- 
trade when the world seemed to be blind to the iniquity of 
Ihe traffic, says, that such has been the influence of the 
slave-trade, in cherishing among the unfortunate Africans 
the vilest passions, enkindling among them intestine wars 
waged for the purpose of obtaining captives, and inciting 
them to betray and kidnap one another, that instead of the 
influence of Europeans being favorable to piety, " the best 
people in Africa are those who have had the least intercourse 
with Europeans !" The Africans, he says, are worse in 
proportion to their acquaintance with us ; and often, when 
charged with a crime, they will say, " Do you think I am a 
white man .^" ' 

* I suppose that most of the slaves brought from Africa, 
are captives taken by one tribe from another, in war V 

'Mr. Clarkson, I think, divides the slaves into seven 
classes. The most considerable class consists of kidnapped, 
or stolen Africans. In obtaining these, every species of in- 
justice, treachery and cruelty are resorted to. This class, 
Mr. C. supposes, embraces one half of the whole number 
transported from Africa. The second class consists of those 
whose villages are set on fire and depopulated in the dark 



112 PlEA FOR AFRICA. 



Classification of slaves. 



ness of night, for the purpose of obtaining a portion of their 
inhabitants. The third class consists of those who have 
been convicted of crimes. The fourth, of prisoners in wars 
that originate from common causes, or in wars made solely 
for the purpose of procuring captives for slaves. The fifth, 
such as are slaves by birth. The sixth and seventh, such 
as have surrendered their liberty by reason of debt, or by 
other imprudences, which last, however, are comparatively 
few in number.' 

' Are they taken principally near the coast, or are they 
from the interior V 

* They are sometimes brought a distance of a thousand 
miles ; marched over land in droves, or caufles as they are 
called, secured from running away, by pieces of wood which 
yoke them together by the neck, two and two, or by other 
pieces fastened with staples to their arms,' 

* They are then, I suppose, carried to the " slave-fac- 
tories," and there sold in order to be shipped V 

* Some are carried to what are called slave-factories ; 
others immediately to the shore, and conveyed in boats to 
the different ships whose captains have captured or purchas- 
ed them. The men are confined on board the ship, two 
and two together, either by the neck, leg, or arm, with fet- 
ters of iron ; and are put into apartments, the men occupy- 
ing the forepart, the women the afterpart, and the children 
the middle. The tops of these apartments are grated for the 
admission of light and for ventilation when the weather is 
suitable for the gates to be uncovered, and are about three 
feet three inches in height, just sufficient space being allotted 
to each individual to sit in one posture, the whole stowed 
away like so much lumber.' 

* Poor creatures !' said Caroline, < how wretched they must 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 113 

How secured and sold. — Horrors of the passage. 

feel, to find themselves in this situation, confined for trans- 
portation to a land of strangers and to a house of bondage— 
to scenes of ignominy and perpetual servitude. They must 
indeed feel wretched beyond expression. O how hard is the 
human heart !' 

* It is said that many of them whilst the ships are waiting 
for their full lading, and whilst they are near their native 
shore which they are no more to set foot upon for ever, have 
been so depressed, and overwhelmed with such unsupport- 
able distress, that they have been induced to die by their 
own hands. Others have become deranged and perfect ma- 
niacs, or have pined away and died with despairing, broken 
hearts.' 

* Horrid ! Are they kept in the confined situation you 
have described, during the whole passage, and allowed no 
exercise nor access to the fresh air? I should think they 
would all die, Pa ?' 

* In the day-time, in fair weather, they are sometimes 
brought on deck. They are then placed in long rows on 
each side the ship, two and two together. As they are 
brought up from their apartments, a long chain is passed 
through the shackles of each couple, successively, and thus 
the whole row is fastened down to the deck. In this situa- 
tion they receive their food. After their coarse and meagre 
meal, a drum is beaten by one of the sailors, and at its 
sound the negroes are all required to exercise for their 
health, jumping in their chains as high as their fetters will 
let them ; and if any refuse to exercise in this way, they 
are whipped until they comply. This jumping, the slave- 
merchants call " dancing. ^^ ' 

* I have read frequent accounts of these cruelties,' said 
Henry; 'and have understood, as I think you also told us, 
that the poor slaves suff"er most in what is called *' the 

i2 



114 PLEA FOR AFRrCA. 

The middle passage. 

middle passage :" that is, I suppose, the whole time they 
are on board ship after they sail V 

' Yes. It is the whole passage from the time the ship 
weighs anchor until she arrives at her destined port. On 
the passage, the situation of the slaves is, indeed, doubly de- 
plorable, especially if the ship have a long passage, and is 
very full. A full-grown person is allowed, in the most com- 
modious slave-ships, but sixteen inches in width, three feet 
three inches in height, and five feet eight inches in length. 
They lie in one crowded mass on the bare planks, and by 
the constant motion of the ship, are often chafed until their 
bones are almost bare, and their limbs covered with bruises 
and sores. The heat is often so great, and the air they 
breathe so poisoned with pestilence by the feverish exhala- 
tions of the suffering multitude, that nature can no longer 
sustain itself. It is no uncommon occurrence, to find, on 
each successive morning, some who have died during the 
iiight, in consequence of their suffering and confined situa- 
tion. A large proportion of those who are shipped, die be- 
fore they have crossed the ocean. Many also die soon after 
completing the voyage, from what is called " the seasoning;'* 
that is, in becoming acclimated in the country to which they 
are carried.' 

' Poor Africans I My heart bleeds at their sufferings,' said 
Caroline, whose eyes now suffused with tears ; ' their home 
was, no doubt, a " sweet home" to them — as much to them, 
as ours is to us ; and, perhaps, they were once as happy.' 

' It is said that when the slave-holders first visited the 
western coast of Africa,' replied Mr. L., ' the country was 
most delightful. The coast was covered with villages, or 
thickly settled towns, which swarmed with inhabitants. 
Simple in their manners, amiable in their dispositions, in 
quiet enjoyment of the profuse bounties of nature, they are 
represented as exceeding happy.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 115 



Africa as she was. 



* They were not civilized V interrupted Henry. 

* No,' said Mr. L., * they were not civilized according to 
oitr ideas of civilization ; but they were a comparatively in- 
nocent, unoffending, contented, happy race. It was not 
until slave-dealers introduced among them every thing that 
could please the fancy and awaken the cupidity of unciviliz- 
ed men, that the exterminating wars which since have 
scarcely ceased, were known. By the more than brutal 
cruelty of white men, quarrels were fomented, tribe was set 
against tribe, and each supplied with the means of mutual 
destruction.'* 

*^What proportion. Sir, of those w^ho have been torn away 
from their home, are supposed to have died on the passage^ 
or before their "seasoning" was over? There must have 
been an amazing sacrifice of human life in this traffic V 

* Of 100,000 Africans supposed to have been torn away 
by the hand of violence from their native clime, annually^ 
one third are supposed to have died on the passage and 
been consigned to a ivatery grave. Another third are sup- 
posed to have died from " the seasoning," or from broken 
hearts.' 

* So then, Henry,' said Caroline, turning to her brother, 

* The author does not mean here to assert that the slavery of Africans i» 
of modern invention. Slavery is of very remote antiquity. We find it exist- 
ing even before the flood. Moses when he gave laws to the Jews, recog- 
nizes its existence, and gives laws respecting it. There is no doubt either 
that slavery has existed in Africa from a very early period, the natives 
having made slaves of their brethren from the earliest times of which we 
have any historical acquaintance; and from a very early period, Africa has 
been spoiled and scattered by other nations. " In this situation," says 
Park, " the great number of the negro inhabitants of Africa have continued 
from the most early period of their history, with this aggravation, that their 
children are born to no other inheritance." At least half the population of 
the entire continent have been in bondage to their own race from time im- 
memorial, as they are now. What he would assert is, that this western coast 
of Africa, of which he is speaking, was, as appears by all accounts, in a com- 
paratively happy state before the adventures of tb^ white slaver upon that 
coast. 



116 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Extent and horrors of the trade. 



'dreadful to think! upwards of 60,000 out of the 100,000 
torn away from Africa every year, die almost immediately, 
in consequence of hard usage and the change of climate !' 

'Yes,' continued Mr. L., 'more than 60,000, probahly, 
die every year, in a few months after the galling chain of 
slavery is fastened upon them. Not a few of these, as I said 
before, die of broken hearts — not all from changes of climate 
and hard usage. A multitude of the murdered sons of Africa, 
will, another day, appear at the bar of eternal justice, to wit- 
ness against their cruel murderers ! From depths of ocean 
alone, a vast army will appear when the sea shall give up 
its dead, crying for vengeance against their inhuman de- 
stroyers ! It would be very easy to harrow up our feelings 
by reference to well authenticated facts which show the 
cruelties attending the trade. If it were not already late, I 
would cite one instance, as a sample of the estimation in 
which human life is held by those miserable men who are 
engaged in the trade. As it is, I will defer it until to-mor- 
row.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 117 



Cruelties of the slave-trade. 



CONVERSATION XII. 



" Forth sprang the ambush'd ruffians on their prey ; 

They caught, they bound, they drove them far away ; 

The white man bought them at the mart of blood, 

In pestilential barks they cross'd the flood ; 

Then were the wretched ones asunder torn, 

To distant isles, to separate bondage borne, 

Denied, though sought with tears, the sad relief 

That misery loves — the fellowship of grief " — Montgomery. 

The family were now together, and Caroline, having just 
risen from a short recreation upon the piano, seeing her 
father at leisure, reminded him that at the close of their last 
evening's conversation, he had * promised to give them in 
the next conversation, facts showing the recklessness of 
slave-dealers in respect to the lives of their unhappy cap- 
tives.' 

' The case to which I designed to refer, as exemplifying 
the estimate in v/hich the lives and happiness of their mise- 
rable victims are held, by the still more wretched, because 
guilty beings, who bring the poor Africans from their native 
land, to suffer in chains, and then to toil for strangers, and 
finally to die in bondage, is that of three slave-vessels cap- 
tured some years since by the Dryad frigate. The account 
which appeared in the English papers was as follows : — 
*' The Fair Rosamond and the Black Joke, tenders to the 
Frigate Dryad, have captured three slave vessels, which had 
originally 1100 slaves on board, but of which they succeed- 
ed in taking only 306 to Sierra Leone. It appears that the 
Fair Rosamond had captured a lugger with 160 Africans, and 
shortly after saw the Black Joke in chase of two other lug- 
gers. She joined in the chase, but the vessels succeeded in 



118 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Extent of the slave-trade in Jater years. 



getting into the Bonny river, and landed 600 slaves before 
the tenders could take possession of them. They found on 
board only 200, but ascertained that one hundred and eighty 
slaves, manacled together, had been thrown overboard, of 
whom only four were picked up.'" ' 

* O, shocking ! a day of retribution surely must come for 
such hard-hearted monsters, such murderous fiends. Why 
is it that the Christian world have ever tolerated such dreadful 
crimes, such worse than barbarous cruelty ? It must be that 
Africans have not been regarded as men ; and yet I should 
suppose such cruelties would hardly be practiced towards 
mere animals, by humane persons. Are not the cruelties 
attending the slave-trade, much less now than formerly V 

' It is said they are as great, and probably greater now than 
they have been at any former period. Obstacles have been 
thrown in the way of the traffic by the planting of colonies 
on the coast, and the vigilance of our own and of the Eng- 
lish government has been somewhat increased, in order to 
detect and capture vessels engaged in the trade ; but the 
slave ships are numerous, and are said to be crowded to ex- 
cess, and the mortality is dreadful. In 1824, 120,000 was 
ascertained to be about the number exported from the coast 
of Africa that year, and a list of the names of 218 vessels, 
believed to be engaged in the traffic, was given. In the year 
1827, no less than 125 vessels sailed to Africa for slaves, 
from Cuba alone. Previous to the establishment of the co- 
lony at Liberia, 2,000 slaves were exported annually from 
the single points of Cape Mount and Montserado.' 

' Do you know. Pa,' Henry inquired, 'what is the average 
cost of slaves in Africa, to those who engage in the trade ?' 

' The prime cost of the miserable victims enslaved on the 
shores of Africa, and sold in Havana for between two and 



PLEA FOR AFRICA, 119 

First cost of slaves. — Domestic distress. 

four and six hundred dollars each, is, I think, to those who 
engage in the traffic on the coast of Africa, a little more 
than one dollar "a logT^ as is expressed in the inhuman 
jargon of the slaver, a log meaning a human body.' 

' My mind,' Caroline here remarked, * is continually re- 
verting to the awful scenes of the first apprehension of the 
poor African, and of his adieu to his native land.' 

Mr. L. thought that * it would be impossible for our live- 
liest conceptions to portray the feelings of the poor slaves 
at those moments, or to tell the awful amount of that load of 
grief which continues for a long time to weigh down their 
hearts. We may imagine them turning their weeping eyes 
towards their native shores, at their departure, and associate 
with that last lingering look thoughts that overwhelm the 
mind ; we may think of the unutterable desolation of the 
fond father or mother torn from the children of their love ; 
the feelings of children forced away from their parents into 
hopeless exile ; the pangs of separation between husbands 
and wives no more to meet this side the grave ; but we have 
only a very inadequate idea after all of the bitterness of that 
cup of wo which they have to drink to the very dregs ! It 
is difficult for us to bring such scenes, and such griefs, to our 
own doors and bosoms, and measure the sufferings of others 
by what would be our own, placed in a similar condition. 
We are so accustomed to think disparagingly of the blacks, 
that our sympathy does not expand on this subject as on oc- 
casions where there is actually less to move our feelings. 
We have acquired a habit of looking upon Africans as not 
susceptible of like emotions with ourselves, and when their 
miseries are the theme, there is comparative indifference. 
We associate with the black skin a want of sensibility which 
observation and facts will by no means justify. 



120 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Aifecting case of an African Chief. 



" Fleecy locks and black complexion 

Cannot forfeit nature's claim ; 
Skins may differ, bui affection 

Dwells in white and black the same." 

' You recollect, probably, the affecting case of the African 
chief captured and brought in chains to the Rio Pongas for 
sale, some years ago? He was brother of Yaradee, the 
king of the Solima nation. His noble figure, and daring 
eye, and commanding front, bespoke a mind which knew no 
alternative, save freedom or ruin. He was exhibited for sale 
like a beast, in the market place, still adorned with orna- 
ments of massy gold, as in the days of his glory. The 
tyrant who had seized and bound him, and now oifered him 
for sale, demanded an enormous price of the chief or of his 
friends, as the condition of his being released, rather than 
sent in bondage to a far country. The warrior offered large 
sums for his redemption, but his owner refused to listen to 
the proposals. At length, distracted by the very thought 
of his degradation, tears stole from eyes that never wept 
before, and he entreated those around him to cut his 
hair, which had been permitted to grow long and was plat- 
ted with peculiar care, in which wedges of gold were con- 
cealed ; and these treasures he laid at the feet of his keeper 
to obtain a ransom. All, however, was in vain. The 
wretch who held him was inexorable. He gave the chief 
to understand that he should take care of the gold, and get 
as much gold for him as he could besides. Dark despair 
settling upon the soul of the noble captive, " then burst his 
mighty heart." In a moment, as if by an instant stroke 
from on high, his faculties were shattered. Unable to sus- 
tain himself under the workings of his wounded spirit, he be- 
came a furious maniac ; and then suddenly withered and pe- 
rished ! He had never trembled in fields of blood and 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 121 



The African Chieftain. 



death ; but he could not endure the thought of servitude and 
chains.' 

' I recollect the story,' said Henry, * and I recollect some 
lines which appeared soon after the occurrence, entitled 

THE AFRICAN CHIEFTAIN. 

" And must this mighty spirit yield, 
This robust frame give up its breath. 
Not nobly on the bloody field 
Where valor sinks in death ? 
But bound with an inglorious chain. 
The scorn of every coward slave ? 
The thought is madness — I disdain 
To die but with the brave. 

Break ! break these fetters ! and I'll bring 
A precious treasure to your hand — 
Know, I'm the brother of a king 
Who rules a golden laud. 
These massy rings assert my fame, 
I've wealth concealed within my hair — 
More shall be yours, if more you, claim. 
But save me from despair ! 

Thus spoke the Chieftain, and the tear 
Stole silent down his manly face ; 
Not death, not death, he cried, I fear^— 
I fear but this disgrace ! 
Bold mountains of my native land, 
I'm lost — nor ever more shall see 
Those rugged heights, that daring stand. 
And say we shall be free. 

O give me drink, my hopes are dead, 
In mercy break this cursed chain ; 
Act like the lion, take ray head, 
But not prolong my pain. 
Souls of the mighty Chiefs, whose blood 
Flow'd freely on that dreadful day, 
You saw my deeds, how firm 1 stood. 
Take, take this chain away." 
K 



122 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The African Chieftain. 



' The memory of the incident has been preserved in my 
mind,' said C, 'by some elegant and pathetic stanzas from 
the pen of William Cullen Bryant. As we happen to be in 
the vein of poetry now, and as Mr. Bryant's admirable ge- 
nius for poetry is acknowledged both in our own country 
and in Europe, I will repeat, in my turn, a few lines, with 
your permission. Pa ?' 

^ Certainly : Mr. Bryant's poetry is always good.' 

THE AFRICAN CHIEF. 

'' Chain'd in the market-place he stood^ 

A man of giant frame, 
Amid the gathering multitude, 

That shrunk to hear his name. 
All stern of look and strong of limb. 

His dark eye on the ground ; 
And silently they gazed on him, 

As on a lion bound. 

Vainly but well the chief had fought. 

He was a captive now. 
Yet pride, that fortune humbles not, 

Was written on his brow ; 
The scars his dark, broad bosom wore, 

Show'd warrior true and brave : 
A prince among his tribe before, 

He could not be a slave. 

Then to his conqueror he spake — 

'• My brother is a king ; 
Undo this necklace from my neck. 

And take this bracelet ring, 
And send me where my brother reigns, • 

And I will fill thy hands 
With stores of ivory from the plains. 

And gold dust from the sands." 

" Not for thy ivory or thy gold 

WiH I unbind thy chain ; 
That bloody hand shall never hold 

The battle-spear again. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 123 



The African Chieftain. 



A price thy nation never gave 

Shall yet be paid for thee ; 
For thou Shalt be the Christian's I slave, 

In land beyond the sea." 

Then wept the warrior chief, and bade 

To shred his locks away ; 
And one by one, each heavy braid 

Before the victor lay. 
Thick were the plaited locks, and long. 

And deftly hidden there, 
Shone many a wedge of gold among 

The dark and crisped hair. 

" Look ! feast thy greedy eye with gold 

-Long kept for sorest need. 
Take it — thou askest sums untold — 

And say that I am freed : 
Take it— ray wife, the long, long day 

Weeps by the cocoa tree, 
And my young eiiildren leave their play, 

And ask in vain for me." 

" I take thy gold— but I have made 

Thy fetters fast and strong ; 
And ween that by the cocoa shade. 

Thy wife shall wait thee long." 
Strong was the agony that shook 

The captive's frame to hear. 
And the proud meaning of his look 

Was changed to mortal fear. 

His heart was broken— crazed his brain 

At once his eye grew wild, 
He struggled fiercely with his chain, 

Whisper'd, and wept, and smil'd ; 
Yet wore not long those fatal bands ; 

And once at shut of day, 
They drew him forth upon the sands. 

The foul Hyena's prey."^ 



124 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Measures in British Parliament. 



CONVERSATION XIII. 

" I pass with haste by the coast of Africa, whence my mind turns with 
indignation at the abominable traffic in the human species, from which a 
part of our countrymen dare to derive their most inauspicious wealth." 
—Sir William Jones. 

* Again we will turn our attention, for a short time, if you 
please, my dear children, to the slave-trade.' 

' Has not public opinion undergone a very great change, 
Pa, in regard to the slave-trade within a few years V inquir- 
ed Caroline. 

' The change has been great, indeed,' said Mr. L. ' Once 
there were hardly a few to be found to make any effort what- 
ever for Africa's relief. She was bleeding at every pore, 
but none commiserated her distress. She saw and there was 
none to help — she looked, and there was none to drop even 
the tear of pity over her miseries. Public opinion has been 
changing silently but rapidly in Great Britain and America 
for many years. Every passing year, the revolution in sen- 
timent has been more and more apparent. 

' In 1776, whilst the sensibilities of the pubHc were much 
excited by the fact that 132 living slaves had been thrown 
overboard from a vessel engaged in the trade, David Hart- 
ley, a member of the British Parliament, laid upon the table 
of the House of Commons, fetters that had been used in con- 
fining the unhappy victims of this traffic on board of slave- 
ships, and moved a Resolution, " That the trade [was] con- 
trary to the laws of God and the rights of man." 

' In 1787, the Constitution of the United States fixed a 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 125 



Abolition of the trade by the Congress of the U. S. and other nations. 

period for the abolition of the trade, which by act of Con- 
gress became a law in 1808, prohibiting the farther introduc- 
tion of slaves into the States. 

' In 1787, Wilberforce made his first motion in Parliament 
for the abolition of the slave-trade, which motion was renew- 
ed annually in Parliament for twenty years, until at length it 
was enacted that after March, 1808, no slaves should be im- 
ported into the British dominions. 

' On the 2d day of March, 1807, an act was passed by the 
Congress of the United States, the first section of which 
enacts, " that after the first day of January, 1808, it shall 
not be lawful to import or bring into the United States, or 
the territories thereof, from any foreign kingdom, place, or 
country, any negro, mulatto, or person of color, with intent 
to hold, sell or dispose of such negro, mulatto, or person of 
color, as a slave, or to be sold at service or labor." 

' At length, the Dutch, the Spanish, the Portuguese,* and 
the Brazilians made enactments against the traffic. France 
also denounced it, and Austria declared that the moment a 
slave touches an Austrian ship, he is free. At the Congress 
of Vienna in 1815, the sovereigns there present, and the 
States represented, pledged themselves to the suppression of 
the tradfe. And on the 23d of March, 1830, the prosecution 
of the slave-trade ceased to be lawful for the citizens or sub- 
jects of any Christian power in Europe or America. 

* The late universal emancipation of slaves by the British 
government in their West India colonies, which took eff*ect, 
August 1, 1834, is another most important step in the deve- 
lopment of a right feeling in relation to this subject, and I 
cannot but hope, notwithstanding all unfavorable circum- 
stances, that a very few years will have brought to pass all 

* The Queen of Portugal has recently issued a decree against the slaw- 
trade, mailing it piracy. 

k2L 



126 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The trade not materially suppressed. 



that we would claim of freedom, for slaves every where, and 
for the continent of Africa.' 

' But if I have understood you, Pa, you have said that the 
slave-trade is yet carried on extensively V 

' I am sorry to say that it is, Caroline, notwithstanding 
the obligations of laws and treaties to the contrary. When 
the United States, in connexion with England, declared the 
slave-trade to be piracy, and forbade the further introduction 
of slaves into their possessions, the friends of humanity in- 
dulged the hope that a death-blow was about to be given to 
the traffic. Other nations, by important measures, encou- 
raged the hope. The event, however, has caused great dis- 
appointment. I have before stated some of the slavery sta- 
tistics, showing the state of the trade in 1824 and in 1827. 
From a document which I have seen, it also appears that 
from 1820 to 1831, no less than 322,526 slaves were im- 
ported into the single port of Rio Janeiro alone. By very 
recent documents, it appears that the abominable traffic is 
still carried on to a considerable extent in Brazil. The fact 
that the trade is now generally denounced, and declared il- 
legal, and although it be declared by every Christian govern- 
ment piratical, will not alone be sufficient to destroy, or even 
materially to lessen the trade. 

' Armed vessels may be sent to cruise off the coast, as 
they now do, to capture the slave-ships ; but experience 
proves that no squadron will be likely effectually to prevent 
the trade, without the aid of settlements of civilized and 
christianized communities along the coast. Thousands of 
little rivers, and bays, that indent the shores of Africa, either 
refuse to admit our. ships into their shallow waters, whilst 
they afford lurkhig and hiding places for those concerned in 
the traffic and well acquainted with the geography of the 
country, or enable the slaver being pursued, to elude the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 127 



Something more must be done. 



search. If any one factory, mart, or haunt, be broken up, 
word is immediately sent by the traders into the country, 
that slaves must be brought to some less frequented and un- 
suspected part of the coast which is designated, and there 
they are received with impunity, the traders with their ves- 
sels lying concealed perhaps under the woody banks of un- 
known winding streams. 

' It has been supposed, therefore, that colonies establish- 
ed along the coast are indispensable to the entire extinction 
of the trade. Twenty or thirty colonies scattered along the 
coast, it is said, would put an end to the trade effectually and 
for ever. The native chiefs of Sherbro district, through a 
strong desire to be shielded from the ravages of the slave- 
trade, presented one hundred miles of coast, southward of 
Sierra Leone, to the colony ; and it is stated that all the coast 
in the vicinity of that place is now cleared of slave-factories 
and slave-vessels. Several native chiefs in the vicinity of the 
Liberian colony have desired arrangements to be entered into 
with them for the security of that part of the coast, and are 
hoping for as favorable results. The New- York and Penn- 
sylvania colony at Bassa Cove, it is anticipated, will be an 
efficient coadjutor with those already named, in extending a 
Christian influence in Africa, and in hastening the day when 
the traffic in human flesh and blood will end.' 

' What is there, then. Sir, to prevent the formation of co- 
lonies like those that now exist, along the whole coast ? It 
would, I suppose, be a great work — but is it not worthy of 
great effort V 

* Many are hoping and praying and laboring for such a 
result, Caroline. I shall have occasion to refer to this sub- 
ject again in a future conversation. It will be consistent 
with the plan which I have proposed for these con versa- 



128 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonies along the coast necessary. 



tions, to turn our attention now again to the evils of slavery 
as it exists in our own country. 

« We have seen how slavery was introduced here, at an 
unfavorable moment, the planters consulting their immediate 
profit and regardless of future consequences and so falling in 
with the policy of England ; and how slavery was still forced 
on these colonies in spite of remonstrance, the final welfare 
of America being an object of minor importance compared 
with the increase of the commerce of the mother country, 
and the immediate supply of the English treasury. In 1772^ 
the Assembly of Virginia went so far as to set forth, in a re- 
spectful petition to his Majesty, the King of Great Britain, 
the inhumanity of the slave-trade, and to suggest that it 
mio-ht " endanger the very existence of his American do- 
minions." This warning is the more remarkable, inasmuch 
as it came from the first colony the English ever had in 
America, and one already involved in the evils of slavery ;: 
and it was yet more remarkable in the event — for the Ame- 
rican colonies existed a very little time after that warning, a 
part of the dominions of the monarch who would not deign 
even an answer to the petitioners. The' warning were pro- 
jyJietic, if we might judge alone from the event.'^ 

* Virginia, I have seen it suggested by one of her orators,. 
" prides herself" that she has ever pursued the same course 
in relation to this matter,' said Henry. 

* Virginia certainly deserves credit. During her colonial 
existence, when it was the determined policy of England to 
introduce as many slaves as possible into Virginia, her 
House of Burgesses passed no less than twenty-three acts 
tending to suppress the horrible traffic in slaves ; all which 
acts were negatived by the king ! In the original draft of 
the Declaration of Independence, one of her most gifted- 
sons, Mr. Jefferson, inserted a heart-stirring passage, charg- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 129 



Virginia's early efforts against slavery. 



ing the conduct of the king in putting his veto on these 
enactments for the suppression of the slave-trade, as a crime, 
aggravated by Lord Dunmore's endeavoring to stir up the 
slaves in the colonies against us. This clause was stricken 
out finally, because it was ascertained that it could not obtain 
the assent of all the States. In 1778, as soon as Virginia 
found herself in a situation to do it, although in the midst of 
a civil war, she made the African slave-trade punishable by 
death. And it was at her instance also that the act of Con- 
gress was passed, declaring it piracy, subjecting the offender 
to capture and punishment in any court of any nation which 
should pass the same law. So far has Virginia the merit of 
having maintained her claims to " the noble, the humane, 
and the adventurous for the right." Nor does she now fall 
behind any State in the Union in her professed abhorrence 
of slavery, and in a professed and apparent desire to see the 
country free from slavery's stain. Virginia, in common 
with the rest of the South, sees, or thinks she sees diffi- 
culties in the way of immediate and universal emancipation, 
which we in the non-slaveholding States, do not, all of us, 
appreciate ; but we can hardly avoid giving her credit for 
uniformity of practice, honesty of purpose, and a true desire 
to see slavery extinct in our land. It was the movement of 
Virginia in the correspondence which she authorized be- 
tween her Governor, (since President Monroe,) and Mr. 
Jefferson, then President of the United States, a copy of 
which is before me, attested by William Wirt, then clerk of 
the Virginia House of Delegates, which led to the formation 
of the American Colonization Society, and to the founding of 
civilized and Christian colonies in Africa.' 

* Did none of the other States, at an early period, adopt 
measures in relation to this subject ?' 

* Yes, Henry, Virginia was earliest in setting the example 



130 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Other States followed Virginia's example. 



for the exclusion of imported slaves ; but a duty on the im- 
portation of slaves was laid by New-York, in 1753 ; by 
Pennsylvania, in 17&2 ; and by New- Jersey, in 1769. In 
1780, Pennsylvania passed a law for the gradual abolition 
of slavery, which has the merit of being the earliest legis- 
lative proceeding of the kind in any country. All the States 
north and east of Maryland, have since passed similar laws. 
At a very early period, the free-holders and inhabitants of 
the counties of Somerset and Essex, in New-Jersey, pre- 
sented similar petitions to that of Virginia in 1772, to the 
Governor, Council, and Representatives of the Province, 
against the slave-trade. The inhabitants of the city and 
county of Philadelphia also petitioned their Assembly against 
the slave-trade, citing the example set them by the Province 
of Virginia, in petitioning the king "from a deep sensibility 
of the danger and pernicious consequences which would be 
attendent on a continuation of the iniquitous traffic." 

* On the adoption of the Federal Constitution, Congress 
was authorized to prohibit, at the end of twenty years, the 
importation of slaves into any part of the United States ; 
which power was exercised at the appointed time.* 

* No slaves, then, have been legally brought into the 
United States since the year 1808 V said Caroline. ' I wish 
Congress had felt authorized to go one step further, and had 
fixed a time for the abolition of slavery in our land. We 
should not then be the reproach of the nations. England 
especially, I notice^ is severe in her allusions.' 

* England,' Mr. L. r-emarked, ' has of late appeared dis- 
posed to do what she can to retrace the wrongs she has oc- 
casioned in her West India colonies. It were well if she 
could undo all the evil she has done. It has always been 
easy for her to make enactments in relation to her distant 
Qolonies ; but I fear that placed in precisely the situation in 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 131 



England has abolished slavery. — Claims more honor than is due. 

which by her reckless avarice she has involved us, the poor 
slaves might find as tardy justice at her hands as she charges 
upon us. ' liegislation for the government of others, is des- 
patched sooner and with much less difficulty, than when the 
enactments are to call for sacrifices on our own part. But 
Britain should neither be reproached in this matter, nor 
utter reproaches against others. Reproach uttered by her 
against this country, comes from Aer, surely, with peculiar 
ill grace. She has done well, I hope it will be found, both 
for Africans and for her West India colonies in directing 
emancipation. We will commend her for the good done, 
and pray that all her influence may favor the cause of 
Africa for the time to come. Her example, it may also be 
hoped, will influence us to love and good works. Let her 
remember, however, that it becomes her to be very sparing 
of reproaches in her allusions to us.' 

Caroline here said she would acknowledge that her pa- 
triotism tempted her to covet for her country, the honor which 
England enjoys of being first in the work of universal eman- 
cipation, notwithstanding these reproaches. 

' That is intended as a cutting remark, Caroline,' said H., 
* which we were noticing this morning, from the pen of Mr. 
C. Stewart, who, I believe, is an Englishman : " Shall the 
United States — the free United States, which could not bear 
the bonds of a king, cradle the bondage which a king is 
abolishing ? Shall a Republic be less free than a Monarchy ? 
Shall we, in the vigor and buoyancy of our manhood, be less 
.energetic in righteousness, than a kingdom in its age ?" ' 

* There is much point too in those lines of Whittier,' said 
Caroline ; 

" Shall every flap of England's flag 

Proclaim thai all around are free, 
From ' farthest Ind' to each blue crag 

That beetles o'er the Western Sea ? 



132 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



England's example. 



And shall we scoff at Europe's kings, 

When Freedom's fire is dim with us, 
And round our country's altar clings 

The damning shade of Slavery's curse ? 

Go — let us ask of Constantine 

To loose his grasp on Poland's throat — 
And beg the lord of Mahraoud's line 

To spare the struggling Suliote. 
Will not the scorching answer come 

From turbaned Turk and fiery Russ — 
* Go, loose your fettered slaves at home. 

Then turn and ask the like of us ?' " 

Mr. L. thought we should take an enlightened view of the 
subject, and not be too much influenced by the sound of 
words, whilst regardless of the real facts and circumstances 
of the case ; but, feeling fatigued, proposed they should now 
defer the conversation until to-morrow : and, said he, as the 
bell rung for the family to assemble at evening prayers, ' we 
will remember Africa, and remember our country too, in our 
devotions.' 



CONVERSATION XIV. 



'• We have found that this evil has preyed upon the very vitals of the 
Union, and has been prejudicial to all the States in which it has existed." — 
James Monroe. 

* Well, Caroline and Henry, I have another hour for Af- 
rica — and if you please, we will resume the subject of our 
conversation.' 

Both responded at once, ' With pleasure, Pa.' 

' Is it not generally supposed, Pa,' Henry inquired, ' that 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 133 



The government of the U. S. cannot legislate for individual States. 

the United States, as a nation, cannot in good faith interfere 
with the question of slavery in the several States where slave- 
ry exists V 

* I believe that it is generally agreed among statesmen,' 
said Mr. L., ' that the time and manner of abolishing slavery 
within the limits of individual states, must be left to their 
own voluntary deliberations. The federal government, it is 
conceded, has no control over this subject : it concerns rights 
of property secured by the federal compact, upon which our 
liberties mainly depend. It is a part of the collection of po- 
litical rights, the least invasion of any one of which would, 
of course, impair the tenure by which every other is held. 
An unconstitutional interference would, therefore, be most 
disastrous in its results. 

* When the federal compact was formed, the entire aboli- 
tion of slavery was a favorite object with many ; but they 
knew that this point, or the Union, must be surrendered. As 
much as they loved liberty, and as ardently as they con- 
demned personal slavery, they had no other alternative but 
to leave it as they found it, existing at the South, or fail of 
the great desideratum of an union of the States. A compro- 
mise was therefore effected. The South conceded that in 
twenty years the slave-trade should be abolished ; and the 
North conceded that the constitution should secure to the 
South a representation in Congress of three-fifths of their 
slave population, and that each State should be bound to sur- 
render to the citizens of other States such fugitive slaves as 
should be found within their limits. In addition to which, 
it was provided that the United States shall interpose, on re- 
quisition of either of the States, to protect its citizens against 
domestic violence. These principles are fully recognized 
by the constitution, and as good citizens, we are bound to 



134 FLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Rights guaranteed by the constitution. 



respect them, so long as they remain a part of the constitu- 
tion. 

' In the amendments to the constitution, the effect of these 
provisions is confirmed, by the declaration that all powers 
not conceded to the United States, nor prohibited to either of 
the States, by the constitution, remain in the separate states. 
Hence, it is inferred, that as the constitution gives no control 
on this subject, the regulation of domestic slavery, which 
was the exclusive right of the southern states before the con- 
stitution, remains with them, as one of the powers not trans- 
ferred to the United States. The legal construction is, there- 
fore, that the states holding slaves, retain the right of exclu- 
sive regulation over them, which right the United States can- 
not touch. The constitution, as it now stands, renders it as 
improper, it is contended, and as unavailing, for the non- 
slaveholding states to attempt to interfere with the regulations 
of the southern states touching their slaves, as it would be 
for us to attempt to regulate the arrangements of the British 
House of Commons, or the doings of the French Chambers. 
And if the United States cannot, under the constitution, in- 
terfere with the regulations of slavery at the South, still less 
can any single state do so. 

* This is, I believe, a fair state of the case, nearly in the pre- 
cise language which has been sometimes employed by dis- 
tinguished civilians on the question of state rights.' 

' May not the constitution be amended '?^ 

* It may ; but an amendment in this matter would, doubt- 
less, result in a separation of the states. We, then, have no 
means of reaching the evil we propose to remedy. The 
South will become to us a foreign government, and we shall 
have no means of influencing the southern states in regard 
to their slave population, more than we now have of influ- 



FLEA FOR AFRICA. 135 



A dissolution oi the Union would follow an infringement of ihe constitution. 

encing legislation on this subject in the island of Cuba. The 
question, therefore, seems to be, shall we have a union of 
states, or shall we shipwreck the whole on the question of 
slavery ? Many suppose that, in this dilemma, we should 
exercise a spirit of forbearance, and do as our patriotic fore- 
fathers did in their determination of the same question. And 
they are encouraged to assume this position from the well 
known fact that there is an increasing disposition at the 
South to be rid of the evil of slavery, and because they hope 
that the time is very near when there will be some happy, 
united, harmonious and final movement on this subject. 
Many also believe that a disposition on the part of the North 
to interfere in this matter, has been the greatest obstacle in 
the way of a general movement in the South, and most inju- 
rious to the slave, whose condition it is the object of such in- 
terference to improve.' 

* As Congress have control over the District of Columbia, 
I see not why slavery may not be abolished there.'* 

' The United States, it is true, may enact such laws as 
may seem expedient for the government of the District of 
Columbia. Many regard it as a dark reproach upon our 
nation that, by the laws of the United States, the slave-trade 
is permitted to be carried on there. It has been said that the 
District of Columbia is " the principal mart of the slave-trade 
in the Union," and that the public prisons of the District, are 
used for the benefit of the slave-traders, " slaves being con- 
fined in their cells for safe keeping, until the drove, or cargo, 
of human beings can be completed !" But even this reproach, 
which has been declared on the floor of Congress, by a dis- 
tinguished representative from New-York, " unchristian 
unholy, and unjust; not warranted by the laws of God, and 
contrary to the assertion in our Declaration of Independence, 
that ' all men are created equal,' " others contend is perpetu- 



136 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



District of Columbia. 



ated by injudicious movements, which make the question of 
slavery so deeply exciting, that the matter cannot at present 
be discussed with the desired success, and with safety to the 
Union, or benefit to the slave.' 

' But, Pa,' said H., ' we cannot but be interested, deeply 
interested in the subject, although it is a question that affects 
the South, more especially. All admit that slavery is a great 
evil, and must also allow that it afflicts our whole country. 
It is a national blot, inconsistent with our professions, and 
the constant occasion of alienation between different portions 
of our country.' 

'For my part, Henry,' said Mr. L., ' I feel more than 
ever inclined to view all the States as one united whole, and 
hope that, as a whole, they will long be consecrated in the 
affections of every patriot. 

"This is my own, my native land," 
is a sentiment we should all feel, and expresses a feehng 
which I am sure true patriots will love to cherish.' 

' But I really think, Pa,' said Caroline, * that the South 
are quite exorbitant in their claims, if they require us to be 
either indifferent to slavery, or silent and inactive when we 
think duty to our country, our southern brethren, or to the 
slave, calls for decision and action.' 

' I certainly, think, Caroline, that there is a great degree 
of sensitiveness on this subject at the South, and they may, 
in some instances, seem to require too much : but I also 
think that, situated as they are, they have much to awaken 
their suspicions : and that although they cannot reasonably 
expect us to be indifferent either to their situation, our 
country's good, or the slave's best interests, and probably do 
not claim this of us, we are bound to support the constitu- 
tion ; and to respect the rights which it secures to a portion 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 137 



The South sensitive ,• the North censorious. 



of our fellow-citizens composing a part of the Union notwith- 
standing. It appears to me that we are also bound by the 
spirit of theconstitution, as well as by Christian principles, 
and the feelings of humanity, to abstain from all inflamma- 
tory publications whose direct tendency is to excite insurrec- 
tion, and which are an infringement of those rights which the 
constitution acknowledges and guarantees. An opposite 
course may justly be regarded as injurious, not only to the 
whites, but to the slave, whose condition we desire to im- 
prove. By publications or movements tending to excite in- 
surrection, we drive the holders of slaves to extremities — to 
enactments and to rigorous treatment of the slaves ; even, as 
we have seen, shutting from them the light of life, and with- 
holding the ordinary means of instruction — that is, if all their 
enactments are meant to be strictly enforced.' 

* I suppose that Caroline,' said Henry, ' refers to an arti- 
cle w^e were noticing this morning, in a southern paper, 
which asserts, that " the North has nothing to do with this 
subject of black population, and all their solicitude about it 
is meddling and officious." ' 

* The evil is ours as well as theirs. The multitude of 
blacks which the severe legislation of the South drives into 
the free States, alone attests that we have a share in the evil. 
The reproaches which are cast upon our national honor, tell 
us that we have something to do with slavery. The convul- 
sions which reach the very extremities of our land, and often 
seize upon the very heart of this great republic, and anger 
our national discussions, and give a character to important 
events and measures, show that we may not be indifferent to 
the slave question. It has been remarked by a distinguished 
scholar, that " diseased members aflfect the entire physical 
system. Soundness is to be restored to the limbs, not by 
excision, which would both destroy them, and hazard the 

l2 



138 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



All are interested, and prudent measures must be pursued. 

entire body ; but by a general return of health, and a genial 
circulation to the whole." 

* Another reason why I consider the evil as ours, is that 
the guilt of slavery is ours. We are too ready to appro- 
priate it all to our southern brethren : but we have no power 
or right thus to wash our hands. From the North have 
gone ships and seamen and traders in human flesh, that have 
been polluted by the inhuman trafliic, and the " pieces of sil- 
ver" gained by them have been apportioned at the North. 
In the North were the forges which framed fetters and mana- 
cles for the limbs of oppressed and unoflTending Africans. It 
was the iron of the North that pierced their anguished souls : 
and overgrown fortunes and proud palaces at the North still 
stand, reared from the blood and sufferings of unhappy 
slaves, which tell that the North have shared largely in the 
accursed spoils. 

* Besides, there is little room for boasting on our part, 
when it is considered that the different physical features 
and agricultural productions of the South and North have, 
as we have every reason to believe, more than the force 
or absence of proper moral feeling, banished slavery from the 
one, and perpetuated it in the other. Had New-York, New- 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, or even New-England produced cot- 
ton, rice, indigo, and sugar, it is not improbable that slavery 
would have continued in these States and increased its num- 
bers here to this very hour. The same may be supposed, 
without uncharitableness, of the new States north of the Ohio, 
and east of the Mississippi. 

* There can be no good reason, I conceive, why, by fair 
argument, by our best influence, and by our pecuniary re- 
sources, we should not aim to promote the cause of patriot- 
ism and humanity, in civilizing and converting Africa, and in 
rendering mutual benefits to the oppressed among us, and to 
our beloved country. Nor should this be regarded by the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 139 



Appeal to New-England. 



South as unrighteous interference, or unkindness. Great 
wisdom, however, is to be used in this matter. 

* It was you, Henry, if I recollect, who were repeating, a 
few days since, some lines as an appeal to the North. Will 
you repeat them now, as they are not an unappropriate con- 
clusion of this part of our discussion V 

* They were written by Mrs. Sigourney, and are entitled 
*' an appeal to New-England." 

" When injur'd Afric's captive claim, 
Loads the sad gale with startling moan, 

The frown of deep, indignant blame, 
Bends not on southern climes alone. 

Her toil, and chain, and scalding tear, 

Our daily board with luxuries deck, 
And to dark slavery's yoke severe 

Our fathers help'd to bow her neck. 

If slumbering in the thoughtful breast, 

Or justice, or compassion dwell ; 
Call from their couch the hallowed guest, 

The deed to prompt, the prayer to swell : 

Oh, lift the hand, and Peace shall bear 

Her olive where the palm-tree grows, 
And torrid Afric's deserts share 

The fragrance of Salvation's rose. 

But if, with Pilate's stoic eye. 

We calmly wash when blood is spilt, 
Or deem a cold, unpitying sigh 

Absolves us from the stain of guilt ; 

Or if, like Jacob's recreant train, 

Who traffic'd in a brother's wo, 
We hear the suppliant plead in vain, 

Or mock his tears that wildly flow ; 

Will not the judgments of the skies, 

Which threw a shield round Joseph sold, 

Be roused by fetter'd Afric's cries, 
And change to dross the oppressor's gold ?" ' 



140 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



A national debt. 



CONVERSATION XY 



<'If the measure is, as we believe it to be, essentially national ; then we 
are all interested, and should be deeply concerned for its success."— Gov. 
Trimble. 

<• I DO not see, Pa, why it should be a question to whom 
the duly belongs of helping forward this good cause ; nor 
why every citizen may not esteem it a privilege and an 
honor to do justice to injured Africa ; especially when, in 
performing this duty we act a fiUal part towards our own 
country.' 

' The debt which we owe to Africa, is, indeed, a national 
debt ; and we are all interested in its liquidation. If, instead 
of mutual recrimination. South and North, East and West, 
could combine their wisdom and benevolence to devise ways 
and means for the ultimate and speedy removal of the evil, 
and if there could be mutual confidence between the difTerent 
sections of our country in respect to this matter, I see not 
why the legislatures of the several States then taking the 
lead, our National Congress might not come up to the work 
and offer that national atonement which every consideration 
of justice and humanity would commend, and which would 
reflect bright honor on the generation that should do the deed. 
For this, if the South prepare the way, by her own action 
and example, I am sure the other States will not be backward 
in their duty ; and the debt which as a nation we owe to Af- 
rica, may be speedily cancelled by us as a nation.' 

* Why, Sir, is it necessary that the South should move 
first in this matter V 

' I know not that there is any other necessity in the case 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 141 



The debt may be cancelled. 



than that of expediency and propriety. It appears to be a 
point universally conceded by statesman, that the continu- 
ance, or removal of slavery, is solely within the power of the 
domestic legislation of the State in which it exists. It is very 
evident, therefore, that we can accomplish nothing by any 
measures on our part, except as the South approves ; whilst 
it is equally evident that any measures on our part of a coer- 
cive nature, or calculated to disturb the domestic arrange- 
ments of the South, would be a violation of our political con- 
tract and of good faith.' 

' But, Pa, you do not think that the subject of slavery 
ought not to be discussed even publicly if we please ; and 
that no arguments should be used by us with our southern 
brethren to encourage and persuade them to correct views 
and early action in respect to a final and general emancipa- 
tion V 

' Certainly I do not. Dr. Channing, whatever discrepan- 
cies are found in his recent work, has clearly expressed my 
views on this subject : " Slavery ought to be discussed. 
We ought to think, feel, speak, and write about it. But 
whatever we do in regard to it, should be done with a deep 
feeling of responsibility, and so done as not to put in jeo- 
pardy the peace of the slave-holding States. On this point 
public opinion has not been, and cannot be too strongly pro- 
nounced. * To instigate the slave to insurrection is a 
crime for which no rebuke and no punishment can be too 
severe. * It is not enough to say, that the constitution is 
violated by any action endangering the slave-holding portion 
of our country. A higher law than the constitution forbids 
this unholy interference. Were our National Union dis- 
solved, we ought to reprobate, as sternly as we now do, the 
slightest manifestation of a disposition to stir up a servile 
war. Still more, were the free and the slave-holding States 



142 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The right of discussion. 



not only separated, but engaged in the fiercest hostilities, the 
former would deserve the abhorrence of the world, and the 
indignation of heaven, were they to resort to insurrection and 
massacre as means of victory." 

' The right of discussion is sometimes claimed in a sense 
which is far from reasonable ; and there is often in connexion 
with this claim a disposition to go beyond the law for a rule 
of action, and to justify that which the law and public opi- 
nion condemns. There is indeed an alarming propensity 
among men at the present day, to set all rightful authority at 
defiance, under the dangerous pretence that the end justifies 
the means. Even that liberty of speech Avhich is justified 
by law, it is not always expedient to exercise ; and that 
which is clearly inexpedient, although not condemned in 
civil law, is morally wrong.' 

' But, suppose,' said Henry, ' that I find slavery forbidden 
in holy Scripture, and am impressed with the belief that, re- 
gardless of consequences, I ought to assist and favor the 
slave, and on all occasions, to resist and lift up my voice 
against the institution V 

* If we suppose this, we suppose one thing which it may 
be very difficult to prove ; and ""another which, if reality, 
might be altogether insufficient to convince the world that 
our impressions have any claim to an inspiration from 
above, or that they clothe us with any authority to trample 
under foot the rules of propriety and morality, and the laws 
of the land. It will never do for us to be guided by the va- 
garies of the human intellect. One person thinks that there 
should be a community of property ; another that the law of 
marriage is a monopoly, and that all contracts under that law 
should cease at the will of the parties ; another believes the 
law which punishes the felon with death, involves the whole 
State in guilt, and that capital punishments should be resist- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 143 

That which is inexpedient, may be a moral wrong. 

ed : suppose that each claims an unrestricted right of discus- 
sion, and becomes the open and fearless advocate for his pe- 
culiar opinion and its legitimate fruits, would such a course 
show proper respect either for civil law, or the law of God 
which requires that we render unto Caesar the things which 
are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are his ? The 
Scriptures do not undertake to legislate for the nations in 
respect to their domestic economy ; nor do they, in any 
case, decide the question of property, even though the 
question relate to an alleged right to the service of our fel- 
low-man. They recognize slavery as existing under the 
Mosaic dispensation, and also under the Christian dispensa- 
tion, and direct in respect to the duties of masters and of ser- 
vants and slaves, without, as I can see, in all this, either 
sanctioning slavery as just, or treating it with direct censure. 
* What the law of our land is, in relation to slavery, you 
well know. As slavery "has existed, in all time, in the 
fairest regions of the earth, and among the most civilized 
portions of mankind," so it has been recognized and sus- 
tained by law. '* Our own government, not long since, 
made a claim on Great Britain for the value of the property 
of citizens of the United States in some hundred human 
slaves. The principle was admitted by the English nation ; 
the amount to be paid was referred to the arbitration of the 
Emperor of Russia ; the claim was allowed, and the money 
received and distributed to the claimants for their loss of 
property in slaves." The principle is acknowledged and 
guaranteed by our constitution ; and the fact is recognized, 
and the existence of such property acknowledged as often 
as a runaway slave is taken, on the application of his master, 
in the non-slaveholding States. " Our Supreme Court, re- 
ferring to the period when slavery was recognized here by 
law, has in numerous instances adjudicated important rights 
on the doctrine that where slavery does exist or has existed 



144 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Rights guaranteed. 



by the law of the land, such law did admit, and must now be 
deemed to admit, the existence of property in human beings." 
Property is thus considered " the creature of municipal law ;" 
and, indeed, property of no kind exists without law. The 
laws may be unwise, impolitic, unjust, and cruel ; but still 
they have their effect; and although " arguments may very 
properly be urged to prove that the laws ought to be 
changed," yet no action can be tolerated in society which, 
■while the laws stand, goes to make them " inoperative and 
void." Good order requires an observance of the laws so 
long as they remain. 

' The mere right of discussion is unquestionable. It is 
well declared to be " one of the elements of public liberty ;" 
and the South require too much, if they demand of us that 
we shall abstain from the free discussion of any subject 
whatever. Still, the legal right, " like all other human 
rights, is to be controlled by a high moral responsibility ;" 
and, there are cases where " the expediency of the exercise 
of such rights may become matter of most grave considera- 
tion." It is very clear that sweeping denunciations, harsh 
aspersions, and threatening invective, are always calculated 
" to produce obduracy in error and resentment for indignity, 
sustaining a man in his vices even, by motives of supposed 
self-respect." Slavery is now permitted in fifteen States and 
Territories ; and the amount of property claimed in the 
slaves in these States and Territories by five millions of free- 
men, is not less than five, hundred millions of dollars — 
some estimates say $800,000,000 ! And the subject calls 
for much consideration and forbearance on our part, lest by 
our injudicious movements we protract the evil which we 
desire to see come to an end. In seeking the accomplish- 
ment of any great object, common prudence dictates that we 
take mankind as they are, and not as we would have 
them. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 145 



Value of slave property. 



* It is an indubitable fact, in my own view, that such may, 
through the force of circumstances, become the state of so- 
ciety, that great moral evils may be tolerated when the con- 
viction is clear that acts of prohibition would produce evils 
far more extensive and much more to be deprecated. Sg 
deranged and disordered, ot complicate, by the practice, or 
misfortunes, of a former age, may become the very texture 
of society ; and so peculiar the relations which as a people 
we sustain to each other, that an immediate and entire cor- 
rection of the evil may be impracticable, and that therefore 
neither individuals nor society are bound to attempt it. Such 
a state of things, however, can be no excuse for crime, nor 
for that indifference or cupidity that would tolerate the evil 
for ever, or withhold proper effort for its gradual, judicious, 
and effectual removal.' 

* The supposition which I made, was only a supposition,' 
said Henry ; * the country has been greatly agitated of late 
by the subject of slavery. It neither seems to me right td 
interfere with the southern relations, nor to resort to vio- 
lence to suppress the liberty of speech.' 

* The acts of illegal violence and shameful outrage which 
have grown out of the excitement kindled on this subject, 
in whatever part of the Union, cannot be too strongly de- 
plored, nor too severely censured,' said Mr. L. 

* Why,' said Caroline, • did not our fathers, when our in- 
dependence was asserted, and its acknowledgment obtained 
from the other country, make provision in the Constitu- 
tion ? for the final emancipation of slaves.* 

* On this subject. Gov. Everett of Massachusetts has spo* 
ken, and I will give you his words : ** It was deemed a point 
of the highest public policy, by the non-slaveholding States, 
notwithstanding the existence of slavery in their sister States, 



146 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The Federal compact. 



to enter with them into the present Union, on the basis of 
the constitutional compact. That no Union could have been 
formed, on any other basis, is a fact of historical notoriety ; 
and it is asserted in terais, by General Hamilton, in the re- 
ported debates in the New-York Convention for adopting 
the Constitution. This compact," Gov. E. continues, " ex- 
pressly recognizes the existence of slavery ; and concedes 
to the States where it prevails the most important rights and 
privileges connected with it. Every thing that tends to dis- 
turb the relations created by this compact is at war with its 
spirit ; and whatever, by direct and necessary operation, is 
calculated to excite an insurrection among the slaves, has 
been held, by highly respectable legal authority, an offence 
against the peace of the commonwealth, which may be 
prosecuted as a misdemeanor at common law. Although 
opinions may differ on this point, it would seem the safer 
course, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, to imi- 
tate the example of our fathers — the Adamses, the Han- 
cocks, and other eminent patriots of the Revolution ; who, 
although fresh from the battles of liberty, and approaching 
the question as essentially an open one, deemed it neverthe- 
less expedient to enter into a union with our brothers of the 
slave-holding States, on the principle of forbearance and tole- 
ration on this subject." ' 

' It is not strange. Sir, that the South are unwilling that 
strangers should intermeddle with this part of their domestic 
concerns. Reasons are obvious to my mind now, which did 
not present themselves before.' 

* We all know with what tenacity mankind are wont to 
cling to the possession of whatever is called property. 
Eight hundred millions (for we have to do with facts, not 
theories in this case,) is a vast amount, and in whatever 
light we may regard the justice of the claim to the kind of 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 147 



Difficulties of emancipation. 



property in question, the relinquishment of it would doubt- 
less be regarded as an enormous sacrifice. It has been cal- 
culated that putting down the estimate at one half the lowest 
value put upon this species of property at the South, that is, 
at 250 millions only, instead of 800 millions ; the relinquish- 
ment of this amount by about four millions of freemen, would 
be equivalent to a tax of more than one hundred millions of 
dollars on the six New-England States ; and divided, it 
would be upwards of thirty-six millions of dollars for the 
State of Massachusetts alone; and four and a half millions of 
dollars would, if the amount were assessed, fall upon the city 
of Boston. If the amount were divided, the whole United 
States, North and South, agreeing to pay the amount by a 
general assessment for the indemnity of the slave-holders, 
which I think would be just, the quota for the city of Bos- 
ton alone would be nearly one million and eight hundred 
Uiousand dollars : and the State of Massachusetts must con- 
tribute seventeen millions and a half. Says the gentleman 
of Boston, the author of ' Remarks on Dr. Channing's 
Slavery,' who makes this calculation, " I have all reasonable 
faith in the generosity, the spirit and the nobleness of my 
fellow-citizens, but if it were asked of them to take this im- 
mense amount and pour it as a votive gift into the ocean, or ' 
gather it and burn it on their lofty hills as a beacon-fire in 
honor of freedom and to relieve the southern slaves from 
their bondage, who ventures to believe he would live long 
enough to see the consummation of so much moral glory ? 
* * * If here then, where there is such an abhorrence of 
slavery, where there is so much high principle, where so 
many think it morally wrong, there would be found some 
difficulty in obtaining a contribution large enough to purchase 
ease to our own consciences, by relieving the country of 
this iniquity, what may be expected in the slave districts, 
where there is no such feeling, and of whose freemen we 



148 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Difficulties of eraaneipalion. 



ask not to contribute merely, but to take upon themselves 
the whole load — to reduce themselves to want — their families 
to beggary and their country to ruin ?" * 

* Still, /hope,* said Caroline, 'that we may live to see 
the day when our whole country will be ready to engage 
unitedly and harmoniously in this good work/ 

* I would fain indulge the hope,* said Mr. L., 'notwith- 
standing all that is now most discouraging. We must re- 
member, however, that if slavery is to be brought to an end 
in our land, in a way that shall be honorable and not destruc- 
tive of our national existence,, it must be by the consent of 
the South. A dissolution of the Union and civil war, perhaps 
a servile war also, would be the inevitabk consequence of 
any coercion on the part of the non-slaveholding States. 

* To return to the motives which influence the South — I 
was going also to mention an idea prevalent at the Soutk, 
that a portion " of the land is susceptible only af slave culti- 
vation, and that without this kind of labor their fine fields 
would be desolate." This idea, whetlier correct or not, is 
doubtless one of the obstacles in the way of abolition. An- 
other difficulty is found in the fact that, for the want of suffi- 
cient incentives in this country to effort and virtue, the 
emancipated slave generally becomes a nuisance and pest to 
society ; and general emancipation without colonization 
would despoil the whites at the South of the land of their 
fathers, and drive them from it ; or in a short time render the 
South one " great prison-honse" in a far different sense from 
what it is at present, if not a scene of butchery, massacre, 
and blood. But besides these considerations, the South has 
become extremely sensitive of its dignity and jealous for its 
alleged rights ; and will not allow the least interference in 
respect to this question. They will not suffer dictation or 
instruction,, and they will scarcely listen to reason or allow 



FLEA FOR AFRICA. 149 



The south tenacious of its rights. 



discussion. Indeed, the South may be considered as having 
pronounced its decision, that slavery shall not be discussed 
in any shape, within its borders, except as subject to restric- 
tions which the South may see fit to impose. The reason 
assigned for this is, that they will not " by any affectation of 
liberality, endanger their social system." Claiming to be 
sovereign and independent States, in respect to this part of 
their domestic economy, they are fully resolved to resist all 
encroachments upon their prerogative ; regarding it wrong 
for one State, or individuals in that State, to interfere with, 
or in any way interrupt or endanger the domestic relations 
of another State, as it would be for a foreign power to inter- 
fere in the domestic concerns of our common country. An 
interference of the latter kind would stir our whole country 
to indignation. Even the anti-slavery mission of an indivi- 
dual recently sent out to this country by an association of 
females in Scotland, was not tolerated ; the non-slaveholding 
States, as well as the South, were moved at once by the al- 
leged intrusion. Willi equal disapprobation do we listen to 
the threat of the Irish agitator, and his coadjutors in Parlia- 
ment, *' We will turn to America and require emancipation." 
What, should lae, believing, as many do, that Ireland is in 
an enslaved condition, form societies in our country for the 
establishment of universal liberty, and send agents into the 
British dominions for the purpose of aiding Mr. O'Connel', 
or others, in efforts at agitation there : how would our phi- 
lanthropy be regarded, I will not say by England, but by 
the nations ? The same view is taken by the South of any 
interference in the northern states with their domestic rela- 
tions. Nay, they go farther, and insist that inasmuch as 
" our constitution was a compromise, in which we agreed 
that each State should in its own domestic affairs be sovereign 
and independent," so '' it is the highest infraction of all moral 



150 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



All foreign interference inadmissible. 



principle to violate the obligations which our contract im- 
poses upon us." And with the same view of moral duty, 
there are many at the North who abhor slavery, and can 
truly say with Cowper, 

" 1 would not have a slave to till my ground," 
who at the same time unhesitatingly endorse the language of 
the Boston Reviewer incognito, to whom I have already re- 
ferred, but all of whose views, in extenso, I should be un- 
willing to adopt, " In all codes of morality honesty holds the 
first place, and I deem it dishonest, as it is dishonorable, to 
do that by indirect means which I am prohibited from doing 
openly and avowedly before the world. If insurrection 
breaks out — if war and its atrocities are the consequence, no 
drop of the vast torrent of blood that is to flow shall be laid 
to my account. * * I cannot reconcile it to my con- 
science, while I daily and hourly enjoy the blessings of this 
republican government, to take back any part of the price 
that was paid for it." They consider that the present slave- 
holders did not originate the system ; and that they cannot 
consistently either with their duty to the slave> their coun- 
try, or themselves, change the present state of things in a 
moment ; and that they alone, on whom the accountability 
rests, must determine, in the sight of God, and in obedience 
to the dictates of their own consciences, when, and in what 
way, the system of slavery and all its present evils shall 
come to an end, 

' The opinion of Daniel Webster, expressed not long since 
in a letter to a gentleman in New-York, and published with 
his permission, probably expresses the sentiments of the 
North generally : " In my opinion," says he, " the domestic 
slavery of the southern states is a subject within the exclu- 
sive control of the States themselves ; and, this I am sure, is 
the opinion of the North. Congress has no authority to in- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 151 

The constitutional question. 

terfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of 
them in any of the States. This was so resolved by the 
House of Representatives, when Congress sat in New-York, 
in 1790, on the report of a committee consisting almost en- 
tirely of northern members ; and I do not know an instance 
of the expression of a different opinion in either house of 
Congress since. * * The servitude of so great a portion 
of the population of the South is, undoubtedly, regarded at 
the North, as a great evil, moral and political. But it is re- 
garded, nevertheless, as an evil, the remedy of which lies 
with the legislatures of the South themselves, to be provided 
and applied according to their own sense of policy and duty.'* 
It is indeed a melancholy consideration that domestic slavery 
in the United States is so intimately connected with civil so- 
ciety. But we must take the evil as it is ; and seek the re- 
medy in that way which is legally and morally right, and 
which will not bring about a greater evil than that which we 
seek to redress.' 

*I wonder. Sir, what effect the discussions which are 
going forward have upon the peace of mind and happiness of 
the southern slaves ; I suppose that some of them are ae- 
quainted with the agitations of the times V 

* The effect of movements at the North which go to en- 
danger the stabiUty of southern institutions, on the condi' 
tion of both the colored free, and the slaves, is seen in the 
severity of the recent legislative enactments. The Editor 
of the U. S. Gazette has well remarked, that one can scarcely 
read of these proceedings, without being reminded of the 
remark (doubtless, ironical remark) of the distinguished but 
eccentric John Randolph, when some anti-slavery measure 
was proposed in Congress — " I will hurry home and flog 
Juba." The effect is, that as movements are made at the 
North, which are regarded by the South as prejudicial to 



152 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Effects of discussion. 



their interests, they proceed at once to " flog Juba" — in 
other words, pass laws and keep up an espionage grievously 
oppressive to the colored people. The immediate effect 
upon the mind and consequently upon the peace and en^ 
joyment of the slaves, so far as they are led to reflect on 
their condition, is far from contributing to either. It is 
impossible that they should be indifferent to the subject 
when it is brought before their mind ; it is impossible that 
they should be otherwise than uneasy, discontented, unhap- 
py, inclined to revenge. A Virginia free black has said in 
respect to the laws of slavery and those affecting the condi- 
tion of the free colored people, " these things were never 
felt or even known by us until our northern friends brought 
their existence before our remembrance." ' 

* But, Pa, is it not a fact,' said Henry, ' that, if all in the 
non-slaveholding States were of one mind in reprobating 
slavery, and, supposing it proper for them to do so, were dis- 
posed to insist that the South shall emancipate their slaves ; 
the slave-holding States are not so much in the minority that 
it would be possible for the demand to be enforced ? I do 
not imagine that such a case will ever occur ; but a supposi- 
tion of the kind, and a correct view of the relative strength of 
the parties, it appears to me is calculated to dissipate every 
hope of truly benefitting the slave except as we act in con- 
currence with the views of his master.' 

' The slave-holding districts are the fairest and most im- 
portant portion of our country, if we regard the extent of 
territory, the fertility of the soil, or the increase of popula- 
tion. It is, of course, destined we should suppose to extend 
its influence and political power in the government of the 
country. But even now the disparity is not so great be- 
tween the two divisions of our country that a determined 
collision would not be most fearful, and in all probability de- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 153 



Disunion and collision would be madness. 



structive to both. We must never allow ourselves, how- 
ever, to dwell on such a topic. The thought is too painful 
— the event, we will hope, can never be. It were a strange 
infatuation indeed that should lead to it — a strange patriot- 
ism, and benevolence, and philanthropy, indeed ! 

* We will close the present conversation, with a few ex- 
tracts which I will read from an address in the Richmond 
Enquirer, which the editor of that paper says is, what it 
purports to be, the production of *' a Matron of Eastern Vir- 
ginia," elicited by discussions at Washington and else- 
where, which she regarded as of a " highly intemperate and 
pernicious character, entirely subversive of the tranquillity 
and happiness of society." The extract will serve to show 
more clearly the views and feelings which prevail at the 
South. " As a daughter of our eastern Virginia, and there- 
fore most deeply interested in all that involves her interests 
and prosperity, permit me to entreat gentlemen no longer to 
discard all prudential considerations, but to pause and calmly 
reflect that they are compromising the safety of millions, by 
their ill-timed and imprudent discussions. * * Shut your 
eyes no longer, my countrymen — the Union is threatened ; 
and all the blessings it confers, and which our fathers suffer- 
ed and died to attain, must perish with it. Scorn not the 
feeble voice of a woman, when she calls on you to awake 
to your danger, ere it be for ever too late. We are told, that 
the citizens of the North would arouse our slaves to exert 
their physical force against us — but we cannot, we will not 
believe the foul, shocking, unnatural tale. What ! have the 
daughters of the South inflicted such injuries on their 
northern brethren, as to render them objects of their deadly, 
exterminating hate ? Have helpless age, smiling infancy, 
virgin purity, no claims on the generous, the high-minded, 
and the brave ? Would they introduce the serpents of fear 
and withering anxiety into the Edens of domestic bliss ; 



154 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Disunion and collision would be madness. 



bathe our peaceful hearths with blood, and force us to abhor 
those ties which now unite us as one people, and which we 
so lately taught our sons to regard as our pride, and the 
very palladium of our prosperity t * * The poor slavB 
himself merits not at their hands the mischief and wo which 
his mistaken advocates would heap on his devoted head. 
The northern people are too well acquainted with histori- 
cal facts, to condemn us for evils which we deprecated as 
warmly as themselves, but which were ruthlessly imposed 
CHI us by the power of Great Britain." Appealing to the 
North, she continues, " We deprecate slavery as much as 
you. We as ardently desire the liberty of the whole human 
race ; but what can we do ? The slow hand of time must 
overcome difficulties now insurmountable. An evil, the 
growth of ages, cannot be remedied in a day. Our virtuous 
gffid enlightened men will doubtless effect much by cautious 
eajertion, if their efforts are not checked by your rash at- 
tejnpts to dictate on a subject of which it is impossible that 
you can form a correct judgment. Forbear your inflam- 
matory addresses. They but rivet the fetters of the slaves, 
and render them ten thousand times more galUng. You 
sacrifice his happiness, as well as that of his owner, for, by 
rendering him an object of suspicion and alarm, you deprive 
him of the regard, confidence, and I may add with the ut- 
most truth, the affection of his master. You render a being 
now light-hearted and joyous, moody and wretched — yes, 
hopelessly wretched. You wreak on the innocent and help- 
less, who, had they the will, possess not the power to bid 
the slave be free from all his imagined wrongs. You agonize 
gentle bosoms, which glow with Christian charity towards 
the whole human race, of whatever color they may be. 
Fearful forebodings mingle with all a mother's deep, im- 
perishable love, as the matron bends over the infant that 
smiles in her face ; and with mom shuddering horror she 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 155 



A Virginia matron's appeal. 



trembles as she gazes on the daughters whose youthful 
beauty, goodness, and grace shed the sunshine of joy and 
hope over the winter of life. I appeal to you as Christians, 
as patriots, as men, generous, high-minded men, to forbear. 
By all you hold sacred — by your own feelings for the wives 
of your bosom and the children of your love, pause and re- 
flect on the mischief and wo you seek to inflict on both the 
white and colored population of the southern States." 



CONVERSATION XVI. 

*• A general emancipation of slaves, to be consistent with such a regard to 
Iheir good, and the public good, as humanity and religion demand, must 
plainly be the work of time. It must be accomplished by a wise system of 
moral influence and of proscriptive legislation, and must allow opportunity 
for a preparatory change of the habits of a whole community." — President 
Porter. 

* You have intimated in former conversations,' said Caro- 
line, ' that there is a disposition among good people at the 
South, notwithstanding the power with which their laws 
have invested them, to prevent interference on the part of 
strangers, still to treat their slaves as rational beings, and to 
give them suitable moral and religious instruction. I wish 
this fact were more generally known at the North.' 

' There is certainly,' said Mr. L., * a pleasing and com- 
mendable spirit exhibited, after all the precautionary provi- 
sions of legislative acts, by the Christian community at the 
South, in respect to the religious instruction of their slaves. 
I have before me a letter from an eminent clergyman of Vir- 
ginia, a part of which I will read, since you may from such 
sources be better able to apprehend the true feeling of Chris- 



156 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Moral and religious instruction of slaves. 



tians at the South, and the actual condition of the slaves :— 
** To ffive you an idea of the feeling of the Christian com- 
munity toward that unfortunate class of people which we 
have among us, I would refer you to the articles which ap- 
peared in the Religious Telegraph during the last year, 
signed, ' Zinzindorf,' and which terminated in passing a re- 
solution in the Synod of Virginia, recommending every 
church in the State, to set apart one of its best qualified 
members, whose duty it shall be to give religious instruction 
to the colored people. And I am happy to state, that many 
enter upon this self-denying, though pleasing duty. The 
present proprietor of Monticello, (Jefferson's seat,) is a gen- 
tleman of lirst rale talents, wealthy, and a man of influence. 
He has entered into this business with all his heart. He has 
enjoyed a very liberal education ; but he thought that this 
was not sufficient to instruct the poor African in the great 
truths of the gospel. He is preparing himself with a theolo- 
gical course, to fit him the better for this responsible duty. 
It is a pleasing fact, that the first proprietor of Jefferson's 
seat, after he left it, should be a man of such benevolent and 
devoted piety. We hope that the public mind is fast prepai- 
ino" for a general emancipation, and that the Christian com- 
munity will not be remiss in instructing and preparing the 
colored people for the colony. The redeeming spirit is 
amongst us, I hope, and will not rest till every slave shall be 
restored to the land of their fathers, and this State placed 
upon a footing with the other happy States of our Union, 
who know not the curses of slavery." 

♦ I have also before me a letter from Georgia, written by a 
distinguished gentleman to his friend, on the same subject, 
which reads as follows : " With regard to your inquiries 
about the religious instruction of the negroes of the South, I 
would state, that whilst there is far less interest on this sub- 
ject among slave-holders than there should be, still we have 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 157 



Effort at the South for the instruction of slaves. 



much reason to be fateful for what is doing, and for what in 
prospect may be done. My knowledge on this subject is 
confined to Georgia and South Carolina ; you must apply to 
other gentlemen for information about other parts of the 
southern country. I visited Brj-an county, Georgia, a few 
weeks since, for the exclusive purpose of seeing what was 
doing there for the negroes. On one plantation I found the 
slaves far more improved, both as regards their temporal 
comforts, and their religious instruction, than I had expected 
to see. The number of negroes on this plantation is, I be- 
lieve, about two hundred. They live in framed houses, 
raised above the ground — spacious, and in every way com- 
fortable, and calculated to promote health. The negroes 
"were uniformly clad in a very decent and comfortable way. 
There is a chapel on the place where the master meets the 
adults every night at the ringing of the bell. Reading a 
portion of Scripture, and explaining it, singing, and prayer, 
constitute the regular exercises of every night in the week. 
On the Sabbath they have different and more protracted ex- 
ercises. A day school is taught by two young ladies — em- 
bracing all the children under twelve or fifteen years of age. 
The instruction in this and other schools in the county, is 
oral, of course ; but it was gratifying to see how great an 
amount of knowledge the children had acquired in a few 
months. A Presbyterian minister of Philadelphia was with 
me, and he said, in unqualified terms, that he had visited no 
infant schools at the North better conducted. This one of 
which I speak, is on the infant-school system. Schools on 
the same plan are now estabhshed on the several other plan- 
tations in the same county. And I think I may say there is 
a very general interest getting up on this subject. A large 
portion of the wealthy planters either have already, or con- 
template building churches on their premises, and employing 
chaplains to preach to their slaves. Several I could mention 



158 



FLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Religious instruction in Georgia. 



who, though they are not pious themselves, have done this 
already, from what they have seen of the beneficial influence 
of religious instruction on the slaves of other plantations. 
Persons at a distance may be surprised at this fact, but it is 
so in a number of cases that I could name, if it were neces- 
sary. Ministers of all denominations begin to awake to their 
duty and responsibility on this subject. Many of them are 
now devoting themselves wJwIIij to this portion of our com- 
munity ; and it is to be hoped that every Christian master 
will soon be brought to an enlightened sense of duty. And 
ifive are allowed to prosecute this icork icithout indiscreet 
interference on the part of our northern brethren, I feel as- 
sured that we shall see the negroes/(arr more improved in a 
short time than they are at present." 

' Of the religious condition of the slaves in South Caroli- 
na, a clergyman in that State writes : "I am able from au- 
thentic information to say, that of the Jive hundred and 
eighty thousand, which compose the entire population of 
this State, about sixty-seven thousand are members in the 
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian churches. 
Of these communicants more Xh^nforty thousand ^re slaves. 
The whole slave population is 315,000. It is easily seen, 
therefore, that of the white population about one- seventh are 
church members. It is proper these facts should come into 
the estimate of the religious condition and prospects of our 
slaves. In New-England there are twenty thousand, and 
in the free states a hundred and twenty thousand blacks. I 
should be glad to see a comparison of their religious condi- 
tion with that of our slaves in this one item. Do you believe 
that one-twentieth of them are communicants ? And do you 
believe that in New-England as here, there is a larger pro- 
portion of black than white communicants ? And what is 
doing there to improve the moral condition of the blacks ? 
The religious denominations which embrace these forty 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. J 59 



Reliziotis instructioa in South Carolina. 



thousand black members, are engaged earnestly, if not to 
the extent of their ability, to bring the saving blessings of 
the gospel to the souls of all these ' heathen amon^ our- 
selves.' And are you not ready to say : — ' Go on, mv 
brethren, and may God bless you. We would rejoice to 
help you if we could : but if we cannot help ror, we will 

* LET YOU ALONE.' " 

' At the convention of the diocese of the Episcopal Church 
m South Carolina, in 1834, a committee was appointed to 
take into consideration, and report upon the subject of the 
religious instruction of the blacks, at the next convention. 
This was accordingly done, and the Bishop was requested 
to address a pastoral letter to the diocese, embracing so much 
of the report of the committee as he might deem expedient. 
In compliance with this request, a pastoral letter from Bbhop 
Bowen was published, containing much valuable and appro- 
priate counsel in relation to the subject, urging attention to 
the religious instruction of slaves as the imperative duty of 
every master, and uniting with the committee of the conven- 
tion in recommending measures for its due performance. 
The letter says, the persons by whom the work of instruc- 
tion should be undertaken are, " 1st. The clergy with their 
assistants in Sunday schools. 2. Lay catechists usefully 
employed in the primitive ages of the church, and now 
rendered absolutely necessary by the small number of clergy. 
3. The proprietors of slaves or their agents or overseers, 
with the assistance of their families. The method recom- 
mended is :— 1. The establishment of Sunday schools, with 
lectures on portions of Scripture for adults, together with 
classes of candidates for baptism and the Lord's Supper, to 
be conducted by the minister. 2. The employment of mis- 
sionaries for the colored population. One of the clergy, the 
committee trusts, is as ' usefuUy as he is honorably employ- 
ed' m this way, on the plantations of Messrs. Clarkson on 



160 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Religious instruction in South Carolina. 



the Wateree, and the hope is expressed that the time is not 
far distant ' ^vhen the Lord will put it into the hearts of 
many of our younger clergy to devote themselves to this in- 
teresting work.' 3. The proprietors of slaves are urged to 
personal labors for their spiritual improvement, and each one 
is recommended in relation to the measures proposed, to 
' ask himself before God, is 7iot this my duty? And then 
let him pursue it, convinced that however great his dis- 
couragement may be at first, by the blessing of God great 
good must ultimately result.' In the Slate of South Carolina 
it is estimated that there are thirty thousand communicants 
belonging to the slave population. * Our clergy,' says a 
zealous, faithful, and highly respectable clergyman, 'gene- 
rally pay a particular attention to the black congregations. 
Many of them give the entire afternoon of the Sabbath to 
them. Sunday schools among them are almost universally 
organized.' It is also well known that in religious families, 
the instruction of the slaves is an object of general solicitude. 
It is by no means unusual for individual planters, or two or 
more in connexion, to support a chaplain for the exclusive 
benefit of their colored people." 

* I might multiply proofs of a disposition prevailing ex- 
tensively at the South in all the States to give to the slaves 
rehgious instruction, and all practicable religious privileges. 
I think the general feeling on this subject is gready misap- 
prehended in the non-slaveholding States. The evils of 
slavery are great, but they ought not to be magnified either 
by representing the slaves as deprived of all religious pri- 
vileges, or their masters as destitute of Christian benevolence 
and the feelings of humanity. The South are lamentably 
deficient in this point after all ; but I wish as great attention 
were paid to the souls of the poor blacks in every free State, 
as they receive in the instances to which we have referred at 
the South.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 161 



Colonization tends to emancipation. 



* I have understood, Sir, that an effect of colonization, 
since Liberia is becoming better known as the home of the 
free, is an increasing disposition and desire on the part of 
slave-holders to emancipate their slaves, that they may find 
an asylum in that land of freedom.' 

* Yes ; within one year it is said that more than 2,000 
slaves have been offered the Colonization Society from five 
different States, with the desire expressed on the part of both 
master and slave, for a passage to Liberia. As colonization 
gains ground, the freedom of untold thousands, it is to be 
hoped, will be secured, and Africa gladdened yet more and 
more with the light of civilization and Christianity.' 

* It appears morally certain,' said H., * that the bondage 
to which Africans have been subjected, by being torn away 
from Africa, and the consequent condition of many of their 
descendants, will be overruled by a wonder-working Provi- 
dence to the christianization and salvation of not a few. 
There is this fact, at least, to abate the painful sensations 
which the thought of slavery occasions.' 

' You remind me,' said Mr. L., ' of an anecdote which 
the Rev. Mr. Brown, of St. Petersburg, recently related, in 
the course of his speech at the anniversary in Boston of the 
Massachusetts Missionary Society. I will endeavor to re- 
peat it, although I cannot give it the interest and effect pro- 
duced by his recital : " Among a number of slaves who had 
been re-captured by a British ship, and sent into Sierra 
Leone, was a little boy named Tom, who had by the slavers 
been separated from his father and mother, and who became 
an object of the particular regard of the missionaries at that 
station. One day, after the hour of instruction had passed, 
the voice of this little boy was overheard in a retired place, 
which one of the missionaries happened to pass. The mis- 

n2 



162 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Anecdote. — Slavery overruled for good. 



sionary at first thought Tom to be in dispute with some of 
his companions, but on listening was surprised and over- 
joyed to find him earnestly engaged in prayer. To attempt 
to give the precise language of his broken petition, might 
make it ridiculous ; but the following is the substance of it, 
as related by the missionary, as nearly as can be recollect- 
ed : — ' O God, me glad de wicked man take me ; me glad 
King George's big ship take de wicked man ; me glad me 
brought here, where de missionary learn me to know God, 
and de way to heaven. O God, me have one great favor to 
ask. Me pray God send more wicked man to take my 
father and mother. jNIe pray God send more King George's 
big ship to take de wicked man and bring my father and 
mother here, so they may learn the way to heaven, and 
father, mother, and Tom, all go to heaven together.' A few 
days afterwards, Tom was seen upon the shore, anxiously 
gazing upon the boundless ocean. On being questioned as 
to his object, he said, ' Me see if God hear prayer ; me pray 
God send my father and mother here ; me see if God answer 
Tom's prayer.' Day after day, full of faith and hope, Tom 
paid a visit to the sea side. Long he waited for an answer 
to his prayer of failh, and his father and mother came not. 
Yet Tom confided in the faithfulness of the God whom the 
missionary had taught him to know and love, till one day, 
when many months had expired, he came running to the 
missionary, clapping his hands, and exclaiming in an extacy 
of joy, ' God answer prayer — Christ hear Tom's prayer — 
de big ship coming to bring my father and mother; O Tom 
glad God hear his prayer.' A British ship had, strange as 
it may seem, made its appearance, and soon after landed a 
party of slaves re-captured from the ' wicked man,' among 
whom was Tom's father and mother." ' 

' God can indeed bring good out of evil,' said C, ' and 
make tl e wrath of man to praise him. I have under- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 163 



Christian colonies a means of evangelizing the heathen. 



Stood, Pa, that the colony at Sierra Leone, although not so 
favorably situated as that in Liberia, is prosperous ; and 
that the church mission at Sierra Leone has been greatly 
blessed.' 

Mr. L. replied, 'If I recollect, the number of communi- 
cants at the church missions in Sierra Leone is between 400 
and 500 ; attendants on public worship, 3,000 ; day scho- 
lars, 1,200. The divine favor, in an increasing degree, ap- 
pears to be vouchsafed to the missionaries. It is also said 
that the Wesley ans have penetrated 300 miles up the Gam- 
bia, and have established a mission in the centre of the 
Mandingo and Foulah tribes. Number of members " in 
society," about 800. Li no year has so much been done for 
African colonization, as during the last, and to give a per- 
manent foundation to the colonies.' 

' I believe. Sir,' said Henry, ' that the plan of spreading 
the gospel by the establishment of Christian colonies in 
heathen lands, is beginning to be thought much of? It ap- 
pears to me that the success of the missions to Africa will 
have the effect to recommend it greatly.' 

Said Mr. L., ' the Rev. Mr. Abeel, missionary to China, 
has remarked, " that the opinion is gaining rapid currency, 
especially among foreign missionaries, that colonies, ChriS' 
tian colonies, are demanded in the enterprise of evangeliz- 
ing the heathen. Possessed of the proper spirit, their influ- 
ence is incalculable. The power of a righteous and holy 
example, irrespective of all other benefits, would give to 
communities of this kind the relative importance of a sun to 
the dark spots on which their light would fall. They would 
present to the heathen in an embodied form, the lovely and 
attractive feature of Christianity. They would exemplify 
the practicability of those lessons which the gospel incul- 
cates, and show their incomparable superiority over all their 



164 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Christian colonies a means of evangelizing the heathen. 

own tenets and practices. The arts and customs of civilized 
life could in this manner be most advantageously introduced. 
All the useful trades and occupations among us could be em- 
ployed for the benefit both of the colonist and of those to 
whose best interests they had devoted themselves. Added 
to these, and perhaps superior to them all, would be the 
direct modes of bringing truth in contact with the minds of 
the heathen, which the members of such colonies might 
employ, and which might be multiplied in proportion to the 
number of adult colonists. Oral teaching — the distribution 
of books — the instruction of the young in seminaries of 
every variety — from the infant school through all the inter- 
mediate departments — to the colleges and even theological 
institutions, would employ all the time of some, and the 
leisure hours of others, to the greatest advantage. One or- 
dained missionary could keep a hundred assistants engaged, 
though their labors were the most signally blessed. That 
which engrosses the missionary is the simple elementary 
instruction in Christianity, which any layman could perform 
with equal propriety and effect. Formal preaching, and the 
administration of the sacraments requires but one man to a 
station. If the children of such colonists were sanctified 
to the great work in which all around them were employed, 
their services would be incalculable. The language would 
come to them by intuition and in its perfection." 

* I suppose. Sir,' said H., ' that there is no hope of the 
evangelizing of Africa except by colonization V 

' No,' said Mr. L., * the situation of Africa is peculiar. 
The necessity of missionary operations through the aid of 
colonies, Mr. Pinney lale Governor of Liberia, who went 
out as a missionary, has well illustrated in the following 
language : *' In view of the melancholy state of the African 
race, my mind was directed to the importance of lifting the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 165 



Christian Colonies. 



standard of Christianity in the heart of that benighted land, 
and of endeavoring thus to stay the desolating progress of 
Mohammedanism among the countless millions of her chil- 
dren. I went to Africa, and while waiting at the colony, 
such a view was presented to my mind of the obstacles now 
existing to the progress of a missionary in the interior, as 
well as of the great benefit the cause of future missions 
might derive from such a colony on the coast, as a gate of 
entrance, and a place of protection, that I became satisfied 
the best and wisest course would be to have our missions 
commenced around the colony, among those of the neigh- 
boring tribes who were friendly to the new comers on their 
continent. I am aware that God has all power, that should 
he send men among hungry and ravenous lions, as he sent 
Daniel, he can now, as he did then, close their mouths, so 
that they shall not touch his prophets to do them harm. I 
will admit, further, that missionaries might, if possessed of 
the dove-like spirit of the gospel, make their way unharmed 
through the most savage tribes, and might live in safety 
among them, yet this is not the case in Africa. The mis- 
sionary among the native tribes may not inaptly be compar- 
ed to a traveller who lies down to sleep beneath a tree with 
a hornet's nest above him. The hornets will not assail him. 
He might sleep there all the year without being annoyed by 
them. But let some mischievous boys pass by and attack 
the nest with stones and clubs, can he sleep in safety then ? 
No : the hornets will confound him with their enemies, and 
will set upon him and sting him to death. Just so a mis- 
sionary, or a company of missionaries, going alone among 
the African tribes, might remain there without harm or 
danger. But let the slave-trader come, and the state of 
things will soon be changed. He will poison the minds of 
the natives with suspicion, and in a little while they will be 
persuaded that the missionaries are their worst enemies, and 



166 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Christian Colonies. 



as such will destroy them. How was it with Lander ? He 
was received and treated in the most friendly and hospitable 
manner by the tribes in the interior, and so continued to be 
treated wherever he came, until he had approached within 
about twenty or twenty -five miles of the sea coast. There 
he met the influence of the traders ; and he soon found the 
character of the natives entirely changed ; and the cause was 
soon manifest enough, in the presence of an liundred slave 
ships on the coast. Here the same spirit, ever hostile, and 
ever on the watch, will present obstacles to the progress and 
success of the missionary, unless some visible power shall 
be established for his protection. Such a power is to be 
found at the colony, and i't will increase and extend its in- 
fluence as the colony shall become more flourishing and 
better known." 

* Christian colonies,' Mr. L, continued, ' are of great ad- 
vantage in the work of evangelizing the benighted, under any 
circumstances ; especially when they are of the same race 
with those whose benefit is sought. Let me quote once 
again from Mr. Pinney. I read from his recent address in 
New-York, as reported for the New-York Observer: " The 
colony planted on the shores of Africa is calculated to prove 
a great benefit to the natives of that continent, even should 
they never obtain the blessings of the gospel ; but that colony 
is calculated to be the great instrument, in the hand of divine 
Providence, in opening the way for the introduction of the 
gospel into that continent : and as such I uphold it. I do 
think that in addition to all the incidental good it has eflPected 
it will be the chief means of commencing and sustaining the 
work of African missions. Our great object, beyond and 
over and above all incidental and lesser good, is to convert 
the population of the African continent. We seek to strike 
the manacles oflffrom the millions of her slaves, and I believe 
this colony is the means ordained of God to do it. The 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 167 



Christian Colonies. 



great difficulty, thus far, in the progress of Christian mis- 
sions, has been to adapt the men to the work. You may- 
take the ablest student from your theological seminary, and 
there let him spend two years in acquiring something of the 
language of the country : and when you have done, he is still 
a stranger and a foreigner. He cannot feel with the native 
inhabitants. He is not one of them : and nothing can make 
him like them. But, if it were otherwise, there is another 
difficulty in the way ; you cannot get enough men for the 
work. In Bombay the missionaries labored for twenty- 
years and scarce any conversions were effected ; and why ? 
the missionaries not being sufficiently numerous, had to em- 
ploy Jews and Mohammedans as teachers in their schools. 
These men taught, indeed, the lessons they were employed 
to teach ; but they taught the children, at the same time, that 
all they learned was nothing but lies. But in Africa we shall 
soon be freed from both these difficulties. Let the work of 
colonization go on and be blessed of heaven to prosper as it 
has done thus far, and in the course of twenty years, we 
shall have there 50,000 pious men from the United States. 
With an ordinary blessing, we shall be able soon to send 
forth ten thousand Christian missionaries, who will go to 
10,000 African villages, which will be prepared, wilhng, 
and anxious to receive them. Noble, glorious prospect ! 
We have the material to form the workmen, and we have 
people apt, and easy, comparatively, to be worked upon. In 
most other heathen countries the missionary has to meet and 
to encounter not only the opposition of the carnal heart, but 
ancient institutions fortified by laws and deprived custom, 
and guarded on every side by an interested, depraved and 
artful priesthood. In China he meets with iron bars across 
his way, with all the strength of the government openly 
against him. In Hindostan he meets all the force of caste 
and all the mighty influence of an ancient prescriptive idola- 



168 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Christian Colonies. 



try, which is identified with all the habits of life. But in 
Africa it is not so. The missionary must, indeed, meet the 
carnal heart : but that is all he has to meet. The African 
people have no idolatry to be given up. They acknowledge 
one God, though they do not know who or what or where 
he is ; and they do not worship him save as a principle of 
evil which it is their interest to propitiate. With this view 
they make an occasional offering, and purchase various 
charms and amulets as preservatives against evil. But they 
never think of such a thing as worshipping an idol. This 
very destitution of all system of religion pre-occupying their 
mind, opens, at once, a wide door for missionary effort. 
And the colony is the very source from which we may ex- 
pect a supply of missionaries. It is calculated to exert a 
mighty influence for good." ' 



CONVERSATION XVII 



"Tis liberty alone that gives the flow'r 

Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; 

And we are weeds without it. All constraint, 

Except what wisdom lays on evil men, 

Is evil ; hurts the faculties ; impedes 

Their progress in the road of science ; blinds 

The eye-sight of discovery : and begets 

In those who suffer it, a sordid mind, 

Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit 

To be the tenant of man's noble form." — Cowper. 

* After all, Pa, it appears to me,' said Henry, ' that it is 
more than freedom that is necessary to raise the African in 
the scale of being, and make him respected and happy. 
How many negroes there are in this country that are free 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 169 



Freedom alone will not elevate the blacks. 



and yet are quite as degraded as the slaves ! Emancipation, 
it seems to me, is but a small part of the duty to which hu- 
manity calls us,* 

* Yes, Pa,' said Caroline, ' I have thought that the blacks, 
even at the North, are generally very degraded and misera- 
ble ; and I have been told that the free blacks at the South 
are even more grovelling and abandoned in their morals than 
the slaves/ 

* It is true, my children, that whilst there are in the United 
States 300,000 persons of African origin who have the name 
of being free, they are generally wretched. But we should 
remember that is because invincible prejudice is continually 
pressing them down, and paralyzing all the energies of their 
nature. There are circumstances whjch seem to check and 
utterly forbid, in most cases, every rising emotion of ambi- 
tion. They have, in truth, neither home, country, or motive 
to effort. Let the white man be similarly situated, genera- 
tion after generation growing up in ignorance and disgrace ; 
and see if, in the lapse of time, he and his descendants are 
not wretched, their thoughts grovelling, and morals aban- 
doned.' 

' Why, as to that,' said H., ' I do not think the blacks are 
more degraded than many whites. I have heard it remarked, 
that at the South even the slaves consider it a degradation to 
associate with the lowest class of whites,' 

* It has been said that, at the South, there are three great 
classes — the respectable whites, the negroes, and the igno- 
rant, or vicious and degraded whites ; the last being lowest 
in the scale of respectability and moral worth. At the South, 
the line of demarkation is more clearly drawn between the 
respectable and the degraded, than in the northern States* 
The white man who, at the South, cannot find a comfortable 
support, and maintain a respectable standing in society, is 



170 PLEA FOR AFRICA, 



No stimulus to effort, and opportunity for distinction. 

generally obnoxious to the suspicion of other causes of po- 
verty and degradation than misfortune ; whilst there is far 
greater equality than with us, among the respectable portion 
of the community. 

* To return to your remark, about the unhappy condition 
of the free blacks. We admit that it is correct ; but let me 
ask if it is not strange that the blacks are not even more de- 
graded than they are. I do not think that either free or slave 
will suffer in comparison with the whites, allowing for all 
the circumstances which have led to the present condition of 
the blacks. The free, however, it must be confessed, are 
generally more sunken to a level with the brute, than the 
slave. They are, as a whole, exceeding corrupt, depraved, 
and abandoned. There are many honorable exceptions among 
them, and it is often a pleasure which I enjoy of bearing tes- 
timony to these exceptions ; but the vicious and degraded 
habits and propensities of this class, are known to every man 
of attentive observation. 

' The characters of men for active industry, enterprise, 
and external morality, to say the least, always depend, more 
than is generally supposed, upon the circumstances in which 
they are placed. Among the causes which, probably, ope- 
rate most powerfully on the character, is early encourage- 
ment. The child who is taught to expect and attempt great 
things, is most likely to imbibe a generous spirit of enter- 
prise. It is the encouragement, the hope of attaining to 
some degree of excellence or measure of prosperity, which 
is wont to develope genius and make the man. But what 
hopes are before the minds of the children of our colored 
population, as motives to aim at an elevated standing in so- 
ciety ? What honorable employment to which the genius 
might happen to be suited, can be promised ? To what cir- 
cle of friendship and respectability whose cultivated minds 
and purity of morals may operate as a stimulus, can the chil- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 171 



Cannot rise or be happy here. 



dren of a colored skin be introduced ? Can the parents of 
those children, affording powerful motives in their own suc- 
cess and example, point to the successful merchant, the dis- 
tinguished statesman, the eminent scholar, or physician, or 
divine, and say, you have the prospect of rising, with equal 
industry and merit, to a level with those ? Alas ! they must, 
at best, be hewers of wood and drawers of water. The bar, 
the pulpit, the legislative hall, the circles of refinement, and 
respectability, and honor, are shut to them, by that which 
is irresistible — the force of public sentiment. They are de- 
nied, by invincible prejudice, the advantages of other free- 
men, and no talents however great, no piety however pure 
and devoted, no patriotism however ardent, can lift them 
above this cruel fate. They hear the accents, they behold 
the triumphs, of liberty ; but they cannot enjoy it as do we. 
In all the walks of life, in every society, on every path which 
lies before others to honor and fame and glory, a moral m- 
cubus pursues and fastens upon them. A great man among 
ourselves, has said, " Their condition is worse than that 
of the fabled Tantalus, who never could grasp the fruits 
and water which seemed within his reach. And when they 
die, 

* Memory o'er their tomb no trophies raises.'" 

* Their degradation is the natural consequence of their un- 
fortunate situation, and not the result of any inherent de- 
pravity in their natural constitution, or of deficiency of mental 
faculties. They are as capable, I verily believe, (and I hope 
that by observation and by reading, if not by our conversa- 
tions, this conviction will be fastened on your mind,) of the 
finest sensibilities as we are ; as capable of appreciating and 
enjoying the endearing relations and blessings of life ; as 
capable of self-government, and eminent attainments in know- 
ledge, usefulness, piety, and respectability. But do what 



172 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Clairag of the American Colonization Society. 



they will, there is here, comparatively, only one prospect 
before them. This is true in respect to the free negro, 
and it cannot be supposed to be otherwise in respect to the 
slave.' 

* It seems to me that we can hardly hope, under such cir- 
cumstances, that they will ever be, in this country, what they 
should desire to be, and aspire after. And this is the rea- 
son, I suppose, why so many who appear to feel for their 
unhappy condition, are ia favor of their colonizing in 
Africa V 

* It is for this reason, and also for others in connexion — 
the benefits that will result to Africa from such an enterprise, 
and the best interests of our own country — that African co- 
lonization is warmly advocated by many. The object is 
thought to have powerful claims to our best and warmest 
wishes, and untiring efforts, whether we consult the best in- 
terests of the free blacks, the slaves, the whites, or the many 
millions scattered over the dark continent of Africa.' 

' I do not see why they should desire, under such circum- 
stances, to remain, or why any should oppose their locatioii 
on a more genial soil. Why should they not wish to go to 
the country of their forefathers ?* 

' I am by no means a party man, in respect to this sub- 
ject, and I hope not on any subject ; but I acknowledge that 
the American Colonization Society has claims to my 
high regard and best desires for its success and prosperity. 
There is much need, doubtless, of that wisdom which God 
imparts to them that seek it, to direct in this matter, for great- 
interests are involved, and the question is exceeding com- 
plicate in its bearings. There is need also of a spirit of 
meekness, and kindness, and forbearance, in its discussion.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 173 



Prejudices against Africans. 



' You feel confident then, Pa, that the blacks, if colonized, 
will do well in their fathers' native land V 

' I can have no reasonable doubt on this subject. Place 
them where they may call the land their own, where, to use 
the language of a distinguished and eloquent statesman of 
another country, " they will stand redeemed, regenerated, 
and disenthralled by the mighty genius of universal emanci- 
pation,'* and they will commence a new life. Many who 
were fully sensible to the humiliation of their condition here, 
are at this moment worthy and independent citizens in the 
country of their forefathers. It seems cruel that remaining 
in this country, they are destined to be for ever proscribed 
and debased by our prejudices ; and yet, for all that we can 
foresee, such must be the consequence unless public senti- 
ment undergoes an entire change. Whilst at the South the 
African is held in physical bondage ; in all our country, pre- 
judice consigns him to a moral debasement, by which he 
cannot but feel that he is deeply injured. The prejudice 
against the color of the African which appears to exist in the 
breasts of the whites in this country generally, is such as 
nothing short of divine power can remove. How far this 
difference between ourselves and the blacks should influence 
our intercourse with them in political life or in respect to the 
sociabilities of the friendly circle, I shall not here assert. I 
have my own views on this subject. 

* Some great and good men,' said Mr. L., ' have gone to 
wide extremes on this question. In the view of some, a colored 
skin attaches an ignominy which I cannot but feel is unjust ; 
others are severe in their reproaches, I may almost say, 
anathemas, against those who indulge in any hesitancy 
touching the fullest expression of equality and unrestricted 
intercourse. Perhaps, were I to express them, they would 
suit neither extreme ; and, it is even possible that I might 

o2 



174 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Distinctions on account of color. 

be charged by some, with cherishmg unjustifiable and wick- 
ed prejudices. It is a painful subject. If we r^fer to the 
Scriptures, a diversity of sentiment remains even among 
good people, for they differ in their interpretations and con- 
structions of duty.' 

^Iknow,^ said C, 'that I have what are called/)re/Wicc5, and 
still I think I am sincerely disposed to befriend the cause of 
the oppressed negro. Some views have been imputed to 
some friends of Africans, at which my mind recoils — and 
this I suppose is what is denominated prejudice. Dr. Philip, 
the able and distinguished missionary in South Africa, of 
the London Missionary Society, in a letter to a benevolent 
association of students at the Princeton Theological Semi- 
nary, says, " It gives us a frightful view of human nature, 
that the injuries we have done to that race of men, should be 
the ground of our hatred against them ; and that that hatred 
should be evident in proportion to the cruelty and injustice 
they have suffered at our hands." * * * *' As our children, 
it is hoped," he continues, " will be more innocent of the 
crimes committed against Africa, than we are, so we hope 
they will cherish towards Africa a more kindly feeling than 
we. There was no prejudice against color when Egypt 
was the cradle of literature and science, nor in the days when 
the Grecian and Roman republics were in their glory ; and 
these prejudices will, most certainly, pass away, as the prin- 
ciples of the gospel prevail." ' 

' I believe the same prejudice does not exist, in the same 
degree, in other countries, does it. Pa ?' 

< It is a singular fact that we republicans are, in this mat- 
ter, far more exclusive in our feelings than our monarchical 
neighbors. In England, it is common to see respectable 
and genteel people, open their pews when a black stranger 
enters the church ; and, at hotels, nobody thinks it a degra- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 175 

Less prejudice in other countries. 

dation to have a colored traveller sit at the same table. I 
have heard a well-authenticated anecdote, which illustrates 
the different state of feeling in the two countries on this sub- 
ject. " A wealthy American citizen was residing in London? 
for a season, at the time the famous Prince Saunders was 
there.* The London breakfast hour is very late ; and Mr. 
Saunders happened to call on the American while his family 
were taking their morning repast. Politeness and native 
good feelings prompted the good lady to ask their guest to 
take a cup of coffee; but then, the prejudices of society — 
how could she get over them ? True, he was a gentleman 
in character, manners, and dress — but he had a black skin» 
and how could she sit at the same table with him ! His skin 
being black, it was altogether out of the question, although 
it is possible a black character is not always so great a diffi- 
culty in the way of asking a man to eat with one ! So the 
lady sipped her coffee, and Prince Saunders sat at the win- 
dow, occasionally speaking in reply to the conversation ad- 
dressed to him. At last, all others having retixed from the 
breakfast table, the lady, with an affected air of sudden re- 
collection, said, ' I forgot to ask if you had breakfasted, 
Mr. Saunders ; won't you allow me to give you a cup of 
coffee V ' I thank you, Madam,' was the reply, with a dig- 
nified bow, ' / am engaged to breakfast with the Prince 
Regent, this morning J*^ ' 

* Saunders received a liberal education in New-England, and kept a. 
school for some time in Boston. From thence he went to St. Domingo pro- 
fessedly to promote the cause of education in that island. He afterwards 
made this voyage to England to further the same object, and was received 
by the friends of African improvement with the most flattering courtesy. 
In a speech before the managers of the British and Foreign Bible Society,, 
he gave an interesting account of St. Domingo, and his speech was much 
applauded; he is said to have spoken with much propriety of language and 
good sense, — Griffin's Flea for Africa. 



176 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Free blacks more degraded than slaves. 



CONVERSATION XVIII. 



"It is not easy to discern any object to which the pecuniary resources of 
the Union can be applied, of greater importance to the national security 
and welfare, than to provide for the removal, in a manner consistent with 
the rights and interests of the several States, of the free colored population 
within their limits."— Ge/j. Mercer. 

* In our last conversation, we noticed the general degrada- 
tion of blacks in this country. The circumstance that there 
are so few blacks that, with their freedom, avoid poverty 
and vice, nobly resisting the natural tendency of their con- 
dition, has led some to suppose that however undesirable 
in itself slavery may be, the blacks generally gain little, 
and in most instances, are great losers, by emancipation I 
It has been asserted that, of free blacks collected in our cities 
and large towns, a great portion are found in abodes of 
wretchedness and vice, and become tenants of poor-houses 
and prisons. As a proof of the tendency of their condition, 
the following striking facts among others, ascertained a year 
or two since, have been mentioned : In Massachusetts, 
where the colored population is small, being less than 
7,000 souls, (only l-74th part of the whole population,) 
about l-6th part of the Avhole number of convicts in the 
state-prison are blacks. In Connecticut, l-34th part of the 
population is colored, and l-3d part of the convicts. In 
New-York, l-35th part are blacks ; l-4th part of the con- 
victs in the city state-prison are blacks. In New-Jersey, 
the proportion is l-13tli colored ; and of the convicts l-3d. 
In Pennsylvania, l-34th part of a population of more than a 
million of souls, is colored ; and more than one-third part of 
the convicts are black. We might pursue these illustrations 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 177 



Alarming proportion of crime among free blacks. 



of the degradation of the free blacks in the non-slaveholding 
States, but it is unnecessary. Suffice it to say, it appears 
from these statements, (which are found in the First Annual 
Report of the Prison Discipline Society,) that about one 
quarter part of all the expense incurred by these States for 
the support of their institutions for criminals is for colored 
convicts. The bill of expense in three of these States for 
the support of colored convicts for the specified number of 
years preceding the report from which this schedule is made, 
was in Massachusetts, 10 years, $17,734; Connecticut, 15 
years, $37,166 ; and New-York, in one prison, 27 years, 
$109,166, making in all, $164,066. And this sum was ex- 
pended, in an average of less than eighteen years, on con- 
victs from among a population of only 54,000 colored per- 
sons. Illustrations, borrowed from the criminal statistics of 
the South, I have no doubt, would place this matter in a far 
more unfavorable light. References to the expenses for the 
maintenance of paupers, in the non-slaveholding states, would 
give a similar result. 

* Another consideration, and one of great weight with our 
southern brethren, in leading them to deprecate the exist- 
ence and increase of a colored population in thfiir midst, is 
the contaminating influence which this class spread among 
the poor and degraded around them. Prostrate and wretch- 
ed themselves, through the peculiarity of their almost hope- 
less circumstances, they are a source of envy and restless 
anxiety to the slave, who, seeing them free from domestic 
restraint and witnessing the facilities with which they are 
enabled to indulge their various propensities, is tempted, 
and corrupted, and often ruined by the contagious influence. 
Hence, some of the severest provisions of the law, and the 
most cruel restraints to which slavery is subjected — and 
k^nce too the early discouragement, and of late years the 



178 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Either colonization or slavery necessary for the present. 

absolute prohibition of emancipation except under severe 
restrictions.' 

* I recollect,' said C, ' having been very much shocked 
sometime since at the remark of Gen. H., that " it would 
have been better for the free blacks had they been kept in 
bondage, where the opportunity and the inducements to vice 
would not have been so great." I did not at the time ap- 
preciate the remark.' 

* Such, my daughter, is the opinion of many, who I am 
sure are no advocates for slavery, and who have made sacri- 
fices to their good feelings towards the African, both slave 
and free. *' I am clear," says a distinguished Virginian, 
who feels a deep interest in the welfare of our colored popu- 
lation, *' that whether we consider it with reference to the 
welfare of the State, or the happiness of the blacks, it were 
better to leave them in chains, than to liberate them to re- 
ceive such freedom as they enjoy." ' 

* The condition of slaves themselves, I suppose, would be 
much ameliorated by the removal of those that are freed, and 
I should suppose that no one can doubt that our free black 
population may find themselves much more favorably located 
in a community by themselves.' 

' There can be no doubt that colonization has a tendency 
to ameliorate the condition of the slave ; and that it is well 
calculated to hasten the time when all shall go free who are 
now oppressed. It has long been a source of regret among 
many discerning, well-informed, and Christian people, to 
my own knowledge, that they cannot free their slaves with- 
out adding to thieir wretchedness, and throwing, as it were, 
loose on the community so many materials to be manufac- 
tured into every form of indolence, degradation and vice.' 

* I suppose,' said Henry, ' that if the immediate emanci- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 179 



Colonization ameliorates the condition of the slave. 

pation of the whole slave population were to be effected, 
the situation of the whites at the South would be very far 
from enviable V 

* It is thought by the South, and by many at the North,' 
said Mr. L., ' that immediate emancipation would render it 
necessary for the whites to exterminate the blacks, or aban- 
don the southern soil. The late abolition of slavery in the 
West India colonies is pleaded as a refutation of this idea ; 
but those who are best qualified to judge, assert that the 
emancipation of slaves upon the West India estates, is a very 
different thing from the immediate emancipation of two mil- 
lions of slaves in the southern country ; and that, without 
raising the question of the ultimate effect upon the whites in 
the West Indies, the banishment of the blacks, or the ex- 
patriation or annihilation of the whites from the South, would 
be the necessary consequence of immediate and universal 
emancipation here. 

*The duty of immediate emancipation,' said Caroline, 
* would be very plain, I suppose, if the continuance of the 
system is wrong under any circumstances. The aboli- 
tionists, I believe, view slavery in all cases, as a si?i — a 
" malum in se," I think they express it ; and they suppose 
it is hardly proper, and somewhat inconsistent, to advise 
leaving off sin gradually, as convenience dictates.' 

♦ The Rev. Dr. Fisk, President of the Methodist Univer- 
sity in Middletown,' said Mr. L., ' illustrates the consequence 
of carrying out the views of our abolitionist brethren, by the 
following anecdote : " The eccentric Lorenzo Dow, had by 
building a milldam across a stream flooded his neighbor's 
grounds above the dam. They commenced a suit against 
him, and obtained a verdict in their favor, on the principle 
that he was invading their rights. This verdict convinced 
Lorenzo that every moment he kept the water in its present 



180 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Immediate and universal emancipation ruinous. 



position he was guilty of a legal sin : and on the ground that 
every man should quit sinning immediately, he at once be- 
came a convert to the doctrine of immediate abolition. He 
according went to work and forthwith abolished (or de- 
molished) his milldam. The immediate consequence of let- 
ting off so large a quantity of water at once, was the delug- 
ing of the country below, and a great destruction of property. 
And Lorenzo was taught by a second prosecution and assess- 
ment of damages, that his immediate abolition had led him 
into a greater sin than he was guilty of before.' 

* We have already noticed,' Mr. L. continued, ' the con- 
dition of the free black population in several of the most 
highly favored States in the Union. Let me advert to a few 
other facts : In the State of Virginia the free colored people 
are not less than 38,000 ; and yet of this number, not 200 
are proprietors of land ! Again, look at their unwelcome 
reception wherever they go, among the whites ; and consider 
the fact that their presence is regarded as an evil wherever 
they are. To some States they are prevented from going, 
by enactments which expose them to a forfeiture of their 
freedom if they should dare to set foot upon the soil. Lou- 
isiana, sometime since, required all free persons of color 
who had removed to the State since the year 1825, to leave 
it. Thousands who had taken refuge in Ohio, driven out 
from that State, sought a home in Canada ; but the result is 
that the Canadians, in their turn, have threatened their ex- 
pulsion. They are laid under restrictions which cannot but 
be exceeding painful, in most of the States both North and 
South ; and in none do they enjoy any thing much better 
than a mere nominal freedom. Various expedients are re- 
sorted to by the State legislatures to free themselves from a 
free colored population, by disabilities and other embarrass- 
ments. Every State seems to cherish a disposition to be 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 181 



Baltimore raeraorial. 



free from a free black population.* The South casts them 
off: the North has no place for them : the West pushes 
them away : Canada expels them : and where shall they go ? 
What shall they do ? They are here isolated ; have no home 
of their own ; no community of their own ; no country of 
their own ; no government of their own ; no system what- 
ever, intellectual or moral, in which their individual exist- 
ence forms a part of the machinery : but every cheerful 
hope seems crushed. They are, I was going to say, dislo- 
cated from humanity. 

* The free people of color in Baltimore, seem to have 
taken a correct but painful view of this subject, in a memo- 
rial which is now before me : they say, to the citizens of 
Baltimore, *' We have hitherto beheld, in silence, but with 
intense interest, the efforts of the wise and philanthropic in 
our behalf. If it became us to be silent, it became us also to 
feel the liveliest anxiety and gratitude. The time has now 
arrived, as we believe, in which your work and our happi- 
ness may be promoted by the expression of our opinions. 
* * * We reside among you, and yet are strangers ; na- 
tives, and yet not citizens ; surrounded by the freest people 
and most republican institutions in the world, and yet enjoy- 
ing none of the immunities of freedom. This singularity in 
our condition has not failed to strike us as well as you : but 
we know it is irremediable here. Our difference of color, 
the servitude of many and most of our brethren, and the pre- 
judices which those circumstances have naturally occasion- 

* The project for a colony upon our own borders has often been thought 
of, and even the Legislature of Virginia made some advances, at the lime of 
the cession of Louisiana to the United States, to obtain a territory for free 
colored people there. Objections, however, of a serious nature, and pro- 
bably insuperable, seem always to meet every plan of this kind. Instead 
of a State, it has been said, such colony, especially in case of general eman- 
cipation, would soon be a nation. In 25 years, the population of the colored 
would be nearly 6,000,000, — in 55 years, a nation of more than 14,000,000. 
It is thought that U ia better and safer that they should remain among u8, 
than be collected in masses near us. 

P 



182 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Baltimore memorial. 



ed, will not allow us to hope, even if we could desire, to 
mingle with you, one day, in the benefits of citizenship. As 
long as we remain among you, we must (and shall) be con- 
tent to be a distinct caste, exposed to the indignities and 
dangers, physical and moral, to which our situation makes 
us liable. All that we may expect, is to merit by our peace- 
able and orderly behaviour, your consideration and the pro- 
tection of the laws. It is not to be imputed to you that we 
are here. Your ancestors remonstrated against the introduc- 
tion of the first of our race, who were brought amongst you ; 
and it was the mother country that insisted on their admis- 
sion, that her colonies and she might profit, as she thought, 
by their compulsory labor. * * Leaving out all conside- 
rations of generosity, humanity, and benevolence, you have 
the strongest reasons to favor and facilitate the withdrawal 
from among you of such as wish to remove. * * But 
if you have every reason to wish for our removal, how 
much greater are our inducements to remove ? Though we 
are not slaves, we are not free. * * Beyond a mere sub- 
sistence, and the impulse of religion, there is nothing to 
arouse us to the exercise of our faculties, or excite us to the 
attainment of eminence. Though under the shield of your 
laws, we are partially protected, not totally oppressed ; never- 
theless, our situation will and must inevitably have the effect 
of crushing, not developing the capacities that God has given 
us. We are, besides, of opinion, that our absence will ac- 
e^erate the liberation of such of our brethren as are in bond- 
age, by the permission of Providence. When such of us as 
wish, and may be able, shall have gone before to open and 
le^ the way, a channel will be left, through which may be 
poured such as hereafter receive their freedom from the kind- 
ness or interests of their masters, or by public opinion and 
legislative enactment, and who are willing to join us who 
have preceded them. * * Of the many schemes that have 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 183 



Baltimore memorial. 



been proposed, we must approve of that of African Colo- 
nization. If we were able and at liberty to go whitherso- 
ever we would, the greater number, willing to leave this 
community, would prefer Liberia, on the coast of Africa. 
* * We shall carry your language, your customs, your opi- 
nions, and Christianity to that now desolate shore, and thence 
they will gradually spread with our growth, far into the con- 
tinent. The slave-trade, both external and internal, can be 
abolished only by settlements on the coast. -* * We fore- 
see that difficulties and dangers await those who emigrate, 
such as every infant establishment must encounter and en- 
dure. * * * But ' Ethiopia shall lift her hands unto 
God.' Thousands and tens of thousands poorer than we, 
annually emigrate from Europe to your country, and soon 
have it in their power to hasten the arrival of those they left 
behind. * * If we were doubtful of your good will and 
benevolent intentions, we would remind you of the time 
when you were in a situation similar to ours, and when your 
forefathers were driven by religious persecution, to a distant 
and inhospitable shore. * * An empire may be the result 
of our emigration, as of theirs. The protection, kindness, 
and assistance which you would have desired for yourselves 
under such circumstances, now extend to us," &c. This 
memorial, of which I have given the greater part, was 
adopted at meetings of " respectable free people of color, 
held in the Bethel" and African churches, which meetings 
were composed of " several denominations, from every part 
of the city." The memorial is a well written document, and 
cannot be read without interest.' 

' There is,' said Henry, ' a wide field for enterprise in 
Africa, and for Christian effort; if I were an African, I think 
I should not hesitate to go.' 

* I was exceedingly interested a few years since to witness 



18i PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Embarkation of colonists. 



the embarkation of emigrants from one of our principal ports ; 
and was surprised to find in how many instances the native 
origin in respect to particular districts, of those who were 
about to sail, might be determined. Said a dear friend who 
soon after laid down his life, on a mission to Africa,* " There 
is the aged Fantee and Haousian — they say ' I go to encou- 
rage the young — they can never be elevated here — I have 
tried it sixty years — it is in vain — could I by my example 
induce them to embark, and I die the next day, I should be 
satisfied.' There is also the Congoese, the Gulan, the An- 
golan, the Aceran, and Ashantee — all with their faces to the 
East. And there is one case of great interest — the name of 
that girl, is A-cush-u-no-no. In Africa she would be styled 
a young Fantee Princess. She is an heir of heaven, we have 
every reason to believe." 

' It is delightful to anticipate, as I think we may, with 
great confidence, the result of the colonization enterprise. 
It is glorious in its object — it will, I doubt not, be truly glo- 
rious in its results.' 

* The Rev. Horace Sessions. He was actively engaged in the coloniza- 
tion cause, accompanied an expedition to Liberia, and died on his return to 
resume his labors in behalf of the cause in this country. The death of this 
amiable and excellent young man, was greatly lamented. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 185 



Africa a home for her children, 



CONVERSATION XIX. 



" For myself, I am free to say, that of all things that have been going 
on in our favor since 1787, when the abolition of the slave-trade was 
seriously proposed, that which is going on in the United States is the most 
important It surpasses every thing that has yet occurred. No sooner had 
your colony been established on Cape Montserado, than there appeared a 
disposition among the owners of slaves to give them freedom voluntarily 
and without compensation, and allow them to be sent to the land of their 
fathers, so that you have many thousands redeemed, without any cost for 
their redemption. To me this is truly astonishing. Can this have taken 
place without the intervention of the Spirit of God ?" — Tliomas Clarkson. 

' It is a settled point, I should think,' said Caroline — ' I 
consider it as settled in my own mind, at least, that Africans 
and their descendants cannot be so useful or happy as citi- 
zens of this country, as they might be in their fathers' native 
land.' 

Said Mr. L., ' I have been-looking over a discourse by the 
Rev. Dr. Miller of Princeton, which was delivered in 1823, 
before the Synod of Ne \v -Jersey. The Dr. holds this lan- 
guage, in reference to this subject, which, if you please, I 
will read : "If liberated and left among the whites, they 
would be a constant source of annoyance, corruption, and 
danger. They could never be trusted as faithful citizens ; 
for they could never feel that their interests and those of the 
whites are precisely the same. Each would regard the 
other with painful suspicion and apprehension. * * It is 
essential to the interests of each that they be separated to 
such distances from each other, as to avoid too frequent in- 
tercourse. They should be in a situation to live a separate 
and independent people. If we would consult their tempo- 
ral and eternal well-being, this must be done ; if we would 
p2 



186 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Motivea to respectability. 



consult our own interest and happiness, it is equally neces- 
sary." Again he says, " They could never be either re- 
spectable or happy in the midst of a white population. They 
can never, whilst public sentiment remains what it is, asso- 
ciate with the whites on terms of equality. They may be 
industrious and regular; they may be enterprising and suc- 
cessful in business ; and exhibit talents, knowledge, and 
ivealth ; but after all they can never associate with the whites 
on terms comfortable to either. They will be treated, and 
they will feel as inferiors. They cannot live under the in- 
fluence of that sense of character, of those excitements to 
aim at high standing in society which operate upon a corres- 
ponding number of white people. As they cannot fail to 
have a degraded standing, so this will confer on them in a 
greater or less degree a degraded character. Place any num- 
ber of human beings, of whatever complexion, in a situation 
in which they can never aspire to an equality with those 
around them, and you take away from them one of the main 
incitements to industry, to honorable enterprise, and to'emu- 
lation of excellence." 

' This is indeed but a repetition of the sentiments which 
I have already advanced in these conversations. Slavery 
will sooner or later, cease from among us ; and I pray that 
the hour may hasten when our country shall be delivered 
from its scourge and reproach. But the more I contemplate 
the subject, the more I am convinced that the plan which 
gives promise of greatest and most extensive benefit to the 
slaves in our country, as well as to the whites, is emancipa- 
tion united with colonization. Nor can I doubt that the 
colored people of this country who are already nominally 
free, will best promote their own interests, as well as the 
best interests of their race and the salvation of their fathers' 
Hative continent, by planting themselves in some position on 
the inviting shores of Africa.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 187 



The foundation of a Christian empire laid. 



* But, Pa, they must be prepared by education, and suita- 
ble moral and religions instruction, in order to be good citi- 
zens of any country V 

' Certainly. African improvement and colonization should 
be considered inseparable. Great care must be taken not to 
destroy the hope of a rich blessing for Africa by sending 
thither a people who are not prepared to assist in laying the 
foundation of a great and cultivated, prosperous and Christian 
nation. The germ of such an empire, I am happy to say, 
has already, as I confidentally believe, taken root in Africa. 
The leaven of Christianity is already in the midst of her dark 
and absurd superstitions. And I have no doubt that before 
a century has passed away, milHons of free and enlightened 
and Christian people will lift up their hearts on the shores 
of Africa, in thanksgivings to God, in grateful recollection 
of the Pilgrims of Mesurado !' 

' We should like, Pa, to know more than we do of coloni- 
zation, and of the object and history of the American Co- 
lonization Society.' 

'■ I was just about to suggest the same,' said Henry. 

*It will give me great pleasure to gratify your wishes in 
this respect. The American Colonization Society is a 
voluntary and benevolent association which was formed at 
Washington, District of Columbia, in the December of 1816. 
Who is entitled to the honor of first suggesting its forma- 
tion and character, I shall not undertake to determine. As 
early as 1777, Mr. Jefferson proposed to the legislature of 
Virginia to have incorporated in the revised code of that 
State, a plan for colonizing the free colored population of 
the United States. He proposed to establish a colony in 
some part of our Western country. Dr. Fothergill and 
Granville Sharp appear the first in England who entertained 



188 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

History of the American Colonization Society. 



the subject of colonization in Africa, the latter of whom may- 
be regarded as the founder of the colony of Sierra Leone. 
The earliest suggestions that I have met with on the subject 
of colonization, from over the waters, were from the pen of 
Granville Sharp, bearing date 1783. It is said that Anthony 
Benezet, of Philadelphia, in a letter addressed to Dr. Fother- 
gill, 1773, proposed to colonize the negroes of this country, 
in "that large extent of country from the west side of the 
Alleghany mountains to the Mississippi, on a breadth of four 
or five hundred miles." Benezet also writes, under date of 
4th month, 28th, 1773, " I am like-minded with thee, with 
respect to the danger and difficulty which would attend a 
sudden manumission of those negroes now in the southern 
colonies, as well to themselves as the whites." A society 
seems to have been formed in Pennsylvania in 1785, for pro- 
moting the gradual abolition of slavery, and received a char- 
ter in 1789 ; but it does not appear that this body contemplat- 
ed the colonization of the free blacks in a separate com- 
munity. For this society, however, it has been claimed by 
an able advocate for colonization, J. R. Tyson, Esq. that it 
is "the parent of perhaps all the similar institutions in this 
country." 

' In 1787, Dr. Thornton, of Washington, it seems, form- 
ed a project for colonizing, on the Western coast of Africa, 
free men of color, from the United States ; and published 
an address to those residing in Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island, inviting them to accompany him to Africa for the pur- 
pose of forming a settlement. He was enthusiastically en- 
gaged in the enterprize, and was so far successful that 
he found a sufficient number of free blacks ready to go ; but 
unfortunately his effiuts failed for want of funds, the public 
mind not being then sufficiently prepared for any such enter- 
prise of benevolence to affi^rd that pecuniary aid which is so 
commendably furnished when any good object presents itself 
at the present day. In 1789, the Rev. Dr. Hopkins, of 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 189 



Society formed. 



Rhode Island, corresponded on the subject with Granville 
Sharp, and in 1790, an able article, promotive of the same 
object, was published by Ferdinando Fairfax, of Virginia. 
In 1801, the legislature of Virginia resolved instructions to 
their Governor, Mr. Monroe, to apply to the President of 
the United States, and urge him to institute negotiations- 
with some of the powers of Europe possessed of colonies - 
on the coast of Africa, for an asylum to which emancipated 
negroes might be sent. A correspondence followed between 
President Jefferson and the Sierra Leone Company, and af- 
terwards with the government of Portugal ; but obstacles 
presented and that project was at length abandoned. 

' The plan of a Colonization Society, it is generally con- 
sidered, was proposed by the Rev. Robert Finley, of New- 
Jersey. He, it seems, devoted much thought to the subject 
in 1814, as also in 1815. It is also evident that the Rev. 
Samuel J. Mills, of Connecticut, was not, at this time, 
without the conception of the great plan in his own mind. 
Some, who assert that they speak from personal knowledge, 
represent Mr. Mills as the man, who, under God, was at 
the foundation of this institution. Be that as it may, he 
was confessedly a warm advocate for the measure, and great- 
ly efficient in bringing about the desired result. The Ameri- 
can Colonization Society was formed, as I have said, in 1816, 
and in the steps immediately preliminary to its organization 
are recorded the names of Mr. Finley, Mr. Mills, the Hon. 
C. F. Mercer of Virginia, and F. S. Key, and E. B. Cald- 
well, Esqrs., of Washington. Among those who attended 
the first meeting, for the organization of the Society, may be 
mentioned also as conspicuous, the Hon. Bushrod Washing- 
ton, who was first President of the Society, and the Hon. 
Henry Clay, one of its earliest Vice-Presidents, and now its 
President. 

* The first Emigration of colored people to Africa from 



190 FLEA FOR AFRICA. 



First Emigration to Africa. 



the United States, was in 1815, about a year previous to the 
formation of the American Colonization Society. This expe- 
dition was under the direction of Paul Cuffee, a colored man, 
and truly respectable, benevolent, and wealthy member of 
the denomination of Friends. Capt. Cuffee, (of New-Bed- 
ford, Mass.,) sailed from Boston, in his own vessel, taking 
with him thirty-eight persons to Sierra Leone, thirty of 
whom he carried out gratuitously, at an expense to himself 
of more than three thousand dollars.' 

' Did you say that he was a colored man, Pa ?' 

' I did ; and very much of a gentleman he was too. His 
father was a poor African, whom the hand of unfeeling ava- 
rice dragged from his native home and connexions into 
slavery ; but by his good conduct, faithfulness and persever- 
ing industry, he, in time, obtained his freedom. Paul, the 
son, was poor in his early days ; but was industrious and 
enterprising, by which traits, joined to much practical wis- 
dom and sterling common sense, he at length rose to opu- 
lence. He was largely concerned in commerce; and in 
many voyages to Russia, England, Africa, the West Indies, 
and southern States, commanded his own ship. A man of 
the strictest integrity, modest and yet dignified in his man- 
ners, of a feeling and liberal heart, public spirited and versed 
in the business of the world, his acquaintance and friendship 
were valued by many who greatly honored him, both in this 
country and in Europe. 1 remember seeing him often, in 
my youth. The last time was as he was passing through 
my native place, in his own private family carriage, drawn 
by beautiful white horses, with a coachman of his own com- 
plexion, on his way to attend a Yearly Meeting of the So- 
ciety of Friends, of which I have said he was a worthy and 
highly respected member.* 

* It is said that "few could remain long ir\ iiis presence without forget- 
ting their prejudice against color, and feeling their hearts expand with juster 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 191 



Colonization Agents visit Africa. 



•In 1818, the American Colonization Society appointed 
as agents, the Rev. Samuel John Mills, whose labors and 
prayers, in the short time that he lived, accomplished much 
lor the glory of God, and laid the foundation for great re- 
sults in the conversion of perishing heathen, and the Rev. 
Ebenezer Burgess, now Dr. Burgess, the excellent Pastor 
of one of the churches in New-England: and instructed 
them to proceed to the coast of Africa, by the way of Eng- 
land, to make the necessary inquiries for^a suitable location 
of a colony. These gentlemen visited all the ports from 
Sierra Leone to Sherbro, and acquired much valuable infor- 
mation. Mr. Mills, as you know, died on the passage from 
Africa, leaving the church to mourn the loss of one of the 
best and most useful of men. You recollect, probably, the 
just and eloquent tribute to the memory of this man of God, 
by the Rev. Mr. Bacon of New Haven. Mr. Bacon, you 
know ; and know also that he is the ardent and faithful friend 
of Africa. I must, through respect to the memory of the 
sainted Mills, read to you an extract from Mr. Bacon's dis- 
course. We will then postpone any further conversation 
until evening, when we will hope to resume the subject.' 

" A young minister of the gospel once said to an intimate 

sentiments towards the most injured portion of the human family." Besides 
the voyage to Africa with the emigrants, he is said to have previously gone 
both to England and Africa in aid~of the same great object, the improve- 
ment of the African mce. He died in 1517, leaviag an estate valued at 
$*20.000. The Rev. Peter Williams, a colored man. and Miidster of an 
Alrican Church in the city of New- York, connected with the PA>testanJ 
Episcopal Church, in a sermon preached on occasion of the death of Captain 
C has these remarks, which we quote both as honorable testimony to the 
estimation in which CaptaiB C was held, and as plea^vjng evidence of the 
good sense and respectable talents of the Rector of Sl Philip's CBurch : 
"His countenance was serious, but mild; his Speech and liabit plain aod 
unostentatious ; his deportment dignified and prepossessing, blendmg gravity 
with modesty and sweetness, and firmness with gentleness and humility. 
* * He rose like the sun. diffusing wider and wider the rays of his bene- 
ficence ; until, having attained his zenith, even the nations beyond the seas 
were made to rejoice in his beams. * * His voyages are all over: he has 
made his last, and it was to the haven of eternal repose." — -V. Y. Sixctaior, 
1S17 ; and Grijin's FUa. 



192 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Samuel John Mills. 



friend, * My brother, you and I are little men, but before we 
die, our influence must be felt on the other side of the 
world.' Not many years after, a ship, returning from a dis- 
tant quarter of the globe, paused on her passage across the 
deep. There stood on her deck a man of God, who wept 
over the dead body of his friend. He prayed, and the sai- 
lors wept with him. And they consigned that body to the 
ocean. It was the body of the man who, in the ardor of 
youthful benevolence, had aspired to extend his influence 
through the world. He died in youth ; but he had redeem- 
ed his pledge ; and at this hour, his influence is felt in Asia, 
in Africa, in the Islands of the sea, and in every corner of 
his native country. This was Samuel John Mills; and 
all who know his history, will say that I have exaggerated 
neither the grandeur of his aspirations, nor the result of his 
eflforts. He traversed our land like a ministering spirit, 
silently, and yet eflfectually, from the hill country of the 
Pilgrims to the valley of the Missouri. He wandered on 
errands of benevolence from village to village, and from city 
to city, pleading now with the patriot for a country growing 
up to an immensity of power, and now with the Christian, 
for a world lying in wickedness. He explored in person 
the desolation of the West, and in person he stirred up to 
enterprise and effort the churches of the East. He lived for 
India and Owhyhee, and died in the service of Africa. He 
went to heaven in his youth ; but his works do follow him, 
like a long train of glory that still widens and brightens, and 
will widen and brighten for ever." 

* Let me repeat,' said Caroline, * as a supplement to the 
truly eloquent extract from Mr. Bacon's eulogium, the poe- 
try of one whom I love to quote, and whose eflfusions you, 
Pa, and Henry, both love to hear, and then I will consent 
to adjourn ; although, I confess, I shall long for the evening 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 103 



Samuel John Mills. 



to come, to resume the subject, for I have become deeply in- 
terested.' 

* I will hear you with pleasure, Caroline,' said her father. 
Caroline remarked, * They are the lines of Mrs. Sigourney, 
on reading the Biography of Mr. Mills.' 

" Oh Africk ! raise thy voice and weep 

For him who sought to heal thy wo. 
Whose bones beneath the briny deep 

Bleach v.'here the pearl and coral glow. 

Unfetter'd by the wiles of earth. 

And girded for the race of heaven, 
Even from his dedicated birth 

To God and thee his soul was given. 

In hermit cells of prayerful thought, 

In meditation's holy sphere, 
He nursed that sacred wish which sought 

The darkness of a world to cheer. 

Our western wilds where outcasts roam, 

Sad India's vales wuth blood defac'd. 
Blest Obookiah's sea-girt home 

The ardor of his zeal embrac'd. 

But thou, indebted clime, that drew 

Through torrid seas his stranger sail, 
Whose tall cliffs heard his fond adieu, 

Pour forth the wildest, bitterest wail." 



294 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Friends of Africa. 



CONVERSATION XX. 



" Many circumstances at present seem to concur in brightening the pros- 
pects of the Society, and cherishing the hope that the time will come when 
the dreadful calamity which has so long afflicted our country, and filled so 
many with despair, will be gradually removed, and by means consistent 
with justice, peace, and the general satisfaction : thus giving to our country 
ihe full enjoyment of the blessings of liberty, and to the world the full bene- 
fit of its great example." — Madison. 

Mr. L. remarked, at the opening of this conversation, ' It 
has occurred to me that, in mentioning the early friends of 
Africa, I ought not to have omitted mentioning more parti- 
cularly the name of Anthony Benezet. His name will live, 
whilst virtue and benevolence are respected among men ; and 
his earnestness in the cause of humanity will be remembered 
long after the history of Africa's redemption shall be written. 
Benezet established a free school in Philadelphia for the 
education of colored people, which is still in operation in 
Willing's alley, and at which John Williams and Peter 
Harris, interesting youths from the native tribes of Bassa 
Cove, have been partially educated ; the former of whom 
has returned to Africa, and the latter, an African prince, is 
now at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., for the completion 
of his education. Benezet was always prompt to plead in 
the behalf of the colored race, as, to their honor be it told, 
have ever been the respectable Society of Friends, of which 
he was a member, to feel a deep concern to ameliorate the 
condition of this unhappy class of their fellow-men. Bene- 
zet early caused to be republished in Philadelphia the cele- 
brated tract of Granville Sharp, on the injustice of the slave- 
trade, and also wrote and published a work on the subject 
himself, which was republished in England. He commenced 



PLEA FOR AFRICA, 195 



Anthony Benezet. 



a correspondence with Mr. Sharp on the subject, in 1772 ; 
of this correspondence I will give you another extract : — " I 
doubt not," he writes, *' but thou wilt, upon inquiry, find 
more well-minded people ready to cry thee ' God speed,' in 
this weighty service, than thou art aware of. The most solid 
amongst all dissenters, particularly the Presbyterians, would 
be well-pleased to see an end put to the slave-trade, and 
many, to slavery itself. The people of New England have 
made a law that nearly amounts to a prohibition of the trade, 
and I am informed, have proposed to the governor and coun- 
cil, that all negroes born in the country shall be free at a 
certain age. The people of Maryland and Virginia, are so 
convinced of the inexpediency, if not of the iniquity of any 
further importation of negroes, that twenty thousand people 
would freely join in a petition to parliament, against any 
further import." Robert* Vaux, in his life of Benezet, says, 
" During the sitting of the legislature, in 1780, a session 
memorable for the enactment of a law which commenced the 
gradual aboUtion of slavery in Pennsylvania," Benezet " had 
private interviews on the subject with every member of the 
government, and no doubt thus essentially contributed to the 
adoption of that celebrated measure." 

' I will now endeavor to satisfy your inquiry in respect to 
the object of the American Colonization Society. This can 
be done in a few words, by referring to the constitution itself, 
of the Society, the first two articles of which are as follows ; 

''' Article I. This Society shall be called the American 
Society for colonizing the free people of color of the 
United States. 

* " Article II. The object to which its attention is to be 
exclusively directed, is to promote and execute a plan 
for colonizing, with their consent, the free people of 

COLOR RESIDING IN OUR COUNTRY, IN AfRICA, OR SUCH OTHER 

place as Congress shall deem expedient." ' 



196 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Object of colonization. 



* Is this alone the object of the Society ?' said Caroline, 
* I had supposed that it contemplated also the suppression of 
the slave-trade, and also the iinal emancipation of slaves in 
our country.' 

* Its whole object,' said Mr. L., ' is stated in the second ar- 
ticle of its constitution. Other important ends may be ob- 
tained as the means of establishing and building up the co- 
lony, or as consequences of the efforts for colonization ; but 
this is the one object it has in view. Pursuing this one ob- 
ject, the North and the South may unite in harmonious 
action. The subject of emancipation it passes by, knowing 
that this belongs exclusively to the several States in which 
slavery is tolerated, and to individual proprietors in those 
States, under and according to their laws. The subject of 
the slave-trade is not contemplated directly in the constitu- 
tion of the Society, for the authority for its suppression is 
vested only in the government of the nations. Nor does it 
directly aim at the education and improvement of the blacks 
in this country : for this must be under the direction of State 
governments, or of State Societies, and no interference in 
the domestic concerns of any one State, is admissible on the 
part of inhabitants of another State. At the same time, to 
use the language of one of its Vice-Presidents, Mr. Clay, 
*' It hopes that if it shall demonstrate the practicability of the 
successful removal to Africa, of free persons of color, with 
their own consent ; the cause of emancipation, either by 
States or by individuals, may be incidentally advanced. At 
the same time, our country will be relieved of a great evil in 
proportion as colonization succeeds : those who may remove 
will find their condition greatly improved ; and by introduc- 
ing knowledge, industry, and religion into Africa, we shall 
contribute to the suppression of the slave-trade, and to the 
civilization and conversion of a continent ! These are ends 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 197 



Colonization generally approved. 



which will be obtained although the object of the Society is 

' The course which the Society takes, unites a greater 
number of judicious and well disposed persons of every sec- 
tion of our common country, probably, than any other plan 
could. It is true, there are not a few who object : the slave- 
holder has, in some instances, indulged the suspicion that an 
interference " with the rights of property," may be intended '■> 
and the advocate of general and immediate emancipation 
without discrimination, has cast upon the Society his keen- 
est reproaches, alleging that its influence, if not its direct ob- 
ject, is to perpetuate the existence of slavery. These objec- 
tions, however, so diametrically opposite, many advocates 
of colonization regard as matter of felicitation, rather than 
otherwise, inasmuch as they evince the wisdom of the plan 
of operation which is proposed. The virulent denunciations 
of both extremes of public sentiment, they say, were to be 
expected by a Society rejecting the hurtful in the ^iews of 
either, although adopting the liberal in both. Besides, had 
it been warmly espoused at the first by either, it would have 
been irreconcileably opposed by the other, and would have 
been itself the dividing line between two crreat parties, leav- 
ing no middle ground on which the great majority of the 
nation might stand, as now, and safely urge forward this 
cause of philanthropy and of patriotism, without compro- 
mise of principles, or the violation of the constitution and 
endangerment of the Union.' 

• This Society,' Caroline here remarked. ' we know, is 
approved by many judicious and good men, and I do not see 
why it should be opposed, or suspected of designing to 
•take any other course than that which it has taken, and still 
pursues. " Charity thinketh no evil." ' 

Henrv said, ' I wonder how the subject would strike the 
q2 



198 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Lafayette's views of the Colonization Society. 



mind of a man of enlarged views and philanthropic soul, 
who was in a situation to see it as it is, and to judge without 
prejudice. I should think now, that the opinion of such a 
man as Lafayette, would be worthy of regard ; if he ap- 
proved of colonization, or disapproved of it, I should think 
that his unprejudiced opinion would have influence.' 

' Lafayette was a Vice-President of the Colonization So- 
ciety, Henry,' said Caroline. 

' O no, Caroline,' said H.; ' are you not mistaken V 

'Yes,' said Mr. L., 'Lafayette was an honorary Vice- 
President of the Colonization Society. And we have his 
opinion, expressly, on the subject of colonization. In a let- 
ter, dated at " Paris, Oct. 29, 1831," he says, " The pro- 
gressuig state of our Liberia establishment, is tome a source 
of enjoyment and the most lively interest. Proud as i am 
OF THE HONOUR of being one of the Vice-Presidents of the 
Society, I only regret that I cannot make myself more use- 
ful. "^ * When the Society meet, be pleased to present 
my wishes, gratitude, and respect." ' 

' Who are some of the other officers of the Society ; 
many of our most distinguished public men V 

'It has enjoyed both the entire confidence of our most 
distinguished men, and the high honor of their influence 
and services as its members and ofliicers. Some of these 
" are not, for God has taken them ;" others are with us, and 
long may they be spared to help forward the cause of co- 
lonization, and as ornaments and blessings to the world. — 
The Hon. Bush rod Washington, I have already named, as 
its first President. Charles Carroll was President of the 
Society after the death of Judge Washington. James Ma- 
dison was its late President. Henry Clay is its President 
at the present time. The late Chief-Justice Marshall and the 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 199 



Other distinguished men. 



venerable and lamented Bishop White, have been among its 
Vice-Presidents ; also, Hon. Wm. H. Crawford, Bishop Mc- 
Kendree, and Robert Ralston. Among its present officers, 
besides Mr. Clay, are John C. Herbert of Maryland, Gen. 
Mason of Va., Samuel Bayard of New-Jersey, Daniel Web- 
ster of Boston, Gen. Mercer of Va., President Day of Yale 
College, John Cotton Smith of Conn., Theo. Frelinghuysen 
of New-Jersey, Bishop Meade of Va., Samuel Southard of 
N. Jersey, Geo. W. Lafayette of France, Nicholas Brown 
of R. I., Pres. Fisk of the Wesleyan Seminary in Conn., 
and — I will not undertake to enumerate more, although I 
might recollect and mention many others of distinguished 
eminence in different parts of the Union. Its Secretary is 
the Rev. Ralph R. Gurley, and its Treasurer, Joseph Gales, 
Sen. Esq., both residents in Washington. The Coloniza- 
tion Society has, indeed, become an object of admiration in 
different parts of the globe.' 

' I recollect,' said Henry, ' among those whose appro- 
bation it received, the name of Wilberforce.' 

' In respect to Wilberforce, your apprehension is correct 
that it'receivedhis approbation,' said Mr. L., " Trojafidt! ' 
It may be considered a mooted point, however, as relates to 
the final decision of the mind of the philanthropic and la- 
mented Wilberforce. It is asserted that he withdrew con- 
fidence from the cause, although he had been the unhesitat- 
ing friend and advocate of colonization. In regard to this 
matter, Dr. Hodgkin, of London, says that " Wilberforce 
continued to avow his approbation of the Society until near 
the period of his lamented death, when the exparte state- 
ments of those who knew the importance of his authority, 
obtained a triumph, the achievement of which confers no 
honor." 

* The Society has not been without many and distinguish- 



200 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Auxiliaries. 



ed friends abroad. Lord Althorp, the late learned Chancel- 
lor of the Exchequer, and one of the most enlightened and 
distinguished noblemen of England, has publicly pronounced 
the foundation of the colony of Liberia to be " one of the 
greatest events of modern times." The immortal Clarkson, 
whose labors in the cause of African freedom have been 
greater than those of almost any other man living, is "strong- 
ly attached to the society ;" the Duke of Sussex, Lord 
Bexley, the Duke of Bedford, the Archbishop of Dublin, 
and others of the highest standing in society, are officers of 
a Society denominated The British African Coloniza- 
tion Society, wiiifch has been foimed in Great Britain in 
aid of the colonization enterprise. They consider the plan 
of the American Colonization Society as "admirably ad- 
apted to introduce Christianity and civilization among the 
natives of Africa, and to extirpate the slave-trade, which 
the moral efforts of Great Britain and other pov/ers, have 
been unable to suppress." I might mention man/ eminent 
foreigners who have expressed their decided approbation of 
the Society.' 

' Auxiliaries are found, I presume, in almost every State 
of the Union ; are they not, Pa ?' 

' I am not able to specify the number, but I recollect there 
are State and other auxiliaries in Maine, New Hampshire, Ver- 
mont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, 
Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Delaware ; and 
resolutions approving of the Society, have been passed by 
the Legislatures of most of these and other States, and by 
most of these also the American Colonization Society has 
been recommended to the patronage of the General Govern- 
ment. Some of the States have made conditional appropria- 
tions from their respective treasuries. Maryland has set a 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 201 



Funds. 



noble example to her sister States by granting $200,000 
from her treasury — that is, the sum of $20,000 annually for 
ten years — to enable the free blacks of Maryland, if they feel 
disposed, to remove to Liberia. 

* The Society has also received the approbation of all pro- 
minent denominations, by the acts of their ecclesiastical ju- 
dicatories, whether assemblies, general associations, synods, 
classes, meetings, or conventions. Episcopalians, Presby- 
terians, the Dutch Reformed, Methodists, Congregationalists, 
Baptists, Lutherans, Moravians, and Friends, have thought 
proper, in their larger ecclesiastical bodies, to commend the 
objects of the Society to the patronage and good wishes of 
the community.' 

' Has the Society considerable funds by which to sustain 
its operations V 

' It has almost none, aside from voluntary contributions, 
which are made from week to week. Its income, however, 
from these sources, has been considerable, and gradually in- 
creasing from its commencement. From 1821 to 1828 in- 
clusive, the amount of donations was nearly $83,000. In 
1829, it was upwards of $20,000. In 1830, more than 
$27,000. In 1831, rising $32,000. In 1832, more than 
$32,000. In 1833, $49,000. In 1834-5, nearly $52,000. 
A heavy debt which had accumulated upon ft, and had like, 
for a time, to have disheartened its friends and suspended 
its operations, has, by a better arrangement in respect to its 
fiscal operations, been nearly extinguished, and its prospects 
are again brightening. 

' In our next conversation, we will turn our attention to 
Liberia.' 



202 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Liberia. 



CONVERSATION XXI. 



" Yes ! thy proud lords, unpitying band, shall see 

That man hath yet a soul, and dare be free ; 

A little while, along thy saddening plains, 

The starless night of desolation reigns; 

Truth shall restore the light by JN'ature given. 

And, like Prometheus, bring the fire of heaven 1 

Prone to the dust Oppression shall be hurl'd — 

Her name, her nature, wither'd from the world." — Campbell. 

' You promised, in our last conversation,' said Caroline, 
* that we should this morning hear something of the history 
of Liberia ; and I assure you, Pa, that Henry and I have 
a great deal of curiosity to satisfy on this subject, so that 
you may expect to be troubled with a great many questions. 
Why, Sir, was the country in which the colonies are located, 
called Liberia T 

' I am much gratified to find that you both take so deep 
an interest in the subject; and shall be pleased to hear and 
to reply to as many inquiries as you may feel inclined to 
make. The name " Liberia," was given to the district of 
country in which the colonies are found, because it is the 
land of the free' d; the name being coined from the Latin 
adjective " liber," or "libera,"/ree it. 

' The central point of the old colony of Liberia, proper, 
now called the colony of Monrovia, is Cape Mesurado, or 
Montserado, which is represented as a most beautiful and 
commanding site. Liberia, embracing all the distinct colonies 
which are or may be planted, is situated about 5 degrees N. 
of the equator, and 250 miles S. of Sierra Leone, the En- 
glish colony. It extends along the coast to the length of 
150 or 300 miles ; and reaches into the interior indefinitely. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 203 



Location and chief settlements. — Monrovia.— Caldwell. 



Rivers, some of considerable size, water the country through- 
out. The soil is extremely fertile, and abounds in all the 
productions of tropical climates. The population, at the pre- 
sent time, is more than 4,000 ; perhaps it may be, as is esti- 
mated by some, 5 or 6,000. 

* The chief city in the old colony, or colony of Monrovia, 
is Monrovia ; so called in honor of the late ex-President of 
the United States, James Monroe. It is situated on Cape 
Montserado, at the mouth of the Mesurado river ; and con- 
tains about 500 houses and stores — a court-house — five 
churches, one Presbyterian, two Methodist, and two Bap- 
tist — three flourishing schools, one of which has upwards of 
100 scholars — a temperance society, numbering upwards of 
500 members — and about 1500 inhabitants. The houses 
are generally well built, and of a pleasant appearance. The 
city is seventy feet above the sea ; and the temperature is 
mild and agreeable, the thermometer not varying more than 
from 68 to 87 deg., and the inhabitants enjoying, most of 
the time, a refreshing sea-breeze. The streets are 100 feet 
wide, crossing each other at right angles. The harbor, 
which is formed by the mouth of the river, is convenient 
and capacious for vessels of moderate dimensions. 

' Seven miles north of the outlet of the Mesurado, is the 
river St. Paul's on which is the town of Caldwell. This 
town, after the plan of some American villages, has but one 
street, which, a mile and a half long, is planted on either 
side with a beautiful row of plaintain and banana trees. 
Caldwell is an agricultural establishment, and is flourishing. 
It has three churches, three day schools, and three Sunday 
schools. It is an interesting fact that one of the native kings 
recently applied at one of these day schools for admission of 
twelve children ; -which request, however, c©uld not be 
granted, as the school was already full. 

' Between Caldwell and Monrovia, on Stockton creek, is 



204 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

New Georgia. — Millsburgh. 

a settlement of recaptured Africans, called New Georgia^ 
and planted in part, by the aid of our General Government. 
It contains 500 inhabitants, who, although they were once 
the miserable tenants, in chains, of the loathsome slave-ship, 
are now living in the enjoyment of the blessings of Christian 
and civilized Hfe. This place has a church and near two 
hundred houses. ^Ir. Buchanan, Agent of the Young Men's 
Society of Pennsylvania, who visited the place, says respect- 
ing this settlement, " The air of perfect neatness, thrift, and 
comfort, which every where prevails, affords a lovely com- 
mentary on the advancement which these interesting people 
have made in civilization and Christian order, under the pa- 
tronage of the Colonization Society. Imagine to yourself, 
some two or three hundred houses, with streets intersecting 
each other at regular distances, preserved clean as the best 
swept side-walk in Philadelphia, and lined with well planted 
hedges of Cassava and of Plum ; a school-house full of or- 
derly children, neatly dressed, and studiously engaged ; and 
then say whether I was guilty of extravagance, in exclaim- 
ing as I did, after surveying this most lovely scene, that had 
the Colonization Society accomplished no more than has 
been done in the rescue from slavery and savage habits of 
these happy people, I should have been well satisfied." 

* North-east of Monrovia, twenty miles, on the same 
river, at the foot of the highlands, is another flourishing 
town called Millsburgh, containing about 500 inhabitants, 
two churches, and one school, and rapidly increasing by new 
colonists^. Millsburgh has peculiar advantages, enabling it 
to become the commercial medium between the interior and 
the sea-coast.* The land is fertile, and the forests abound 
with excellent timber. The town is represented as very 

*The St. Paul's River is supposed to have a course of from 200 to 300 
mile?. 



FLEA FOR AFRICA. 205 



Marshall. — Cape Palmas. — Address of Colonists. 



neat and healthy. Another town of recent settlement is 
Marshall. 

' Another considerable settlement in Liberia, is that very 
flourishing colony formed under the patronage of the Mary- 
land Colonization Society, and also fostered by the State, 
at Cape Palmas, called New Maryland. This colony, which 
now numbers between three and four hundred inhabitants, is 
advantageously located, and promises to excel in agricul- 
ture. Its situation is high, open, free from any surrounding 
marshes, and most favorable to health. Its inhabitants are 
represented as temperate, intelligent, and industrious ; and 
as giving evidence of mental as well as physical energy, that 
greatly encourages the confident hope and expectation that 
they will yet occupy an honorable rank among the civilized 
world. 

* I must give you an extract from an address from this 
colony to the colored people of the United States. '' We 
wish," say they, " to be candid. It is not every man that 
we can honestly advise, or desire to come to this country. 
To those who are contented to live and educate their chil- 
dren as house servants and lackeys, we would say, stay 
ivhere you are ; here we have no masters to employ you. 
To the indolent, heedless, and slothful, we would say, tarry 
among the flesh-pots of Egypt; here we get our bread by 
the sweat of our brow. To drunkards and rioters, w^e 
would say, come not to us ; you never can become natu- 
ralized in a land where there are no grog-shops, and where 
temperance and order is the motto. To the timorous and 
suspicious, we would say, stay where you have protectors ; 
here we protect ourselves. But the industrious, enterpris- 
ing, and patriotic, of whatever occupation, or enterprise — 
the mechanic, the merchant, the farmer, and especially the 
latter, we would counsel, advise, and entreat, to come over, 
and be one with us, and assist us in this glorious enterprise, 



206 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Edina. — Cove. — Fertility of Liberia. 



and enjoy with us that liberty to which we ever were, and 
to which the man of color ever must be a stranger, in America. 
To the ministers of the gospel, both white and colored, we 
would say, come over to this great harvest, and diffuse 
amongst us and our benighted neighbors, the light of the 
gospel, without which liberty itself is but slavery, and free- 
dom perpetual bondage." 

' Besides these, there are the flourishing settlements more 
recently commenced at Edina and Bassa Cove, the one 
beautifully situated on the south, and the other on the 
north side of the St. John's, near its mouth, of which I 
will give you a particular account at another time. Also, 
about eighty miles south-east from Bassa Cove, on the river 
Sinon, the Mississippi Colonization Society have purchased 
a territory, and commenced a colony. The Louisiana So- 
ciety propose the settlement of a colony on the opposite side 
of the same river. And soon I hope to be able to tell you 
of the prosperity of the colony which Virginia, by her State 
Colonization Society, has resolved to plant upon the African 
coast, within the Liberian territory, and under the auspices 
of the Parent Society, to bear the name of New Virginia ; 
also that Kentucky has a prosperous colony there ; and in- 
deed that many States have in Liberia, distinct colonies, 
lining the coast of western Africa, for many hundred miles, 
and thus furnishing a barrier to the approach of the slaver, 
on the one side, whilst on the other, they pour the light of 
civilization and Christianity upon benighted millions.' 

* The prosperity of Liberia is truly wonderful,' said 
Henry ; ' but I have heard it asserted, that the soil is sterile. 
It has been said that the country is mostly a desert.' 

* A more fertile soil, Henry, and a more productive coun- 
try, I suspect it would be difl[icult to find on the face of the 
earth. Its hills and its plains are covered with a verdure 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 207 



Testimony of Park. — Productions. 



that never fades ; the productions of nature keep on in their 
growth through all seasons of the year ; and even the natives 
of the country, almost without farming tools or skill, with 
very little labor, make more grain and vegetables than they 
can consume, and often more than they can sell. They who 
represent Liberia as sterile, must do so through pitiable igno- 
rance, or a criminal design to injure the colony. 

' It is true, there are in Africa, extensive deserts : but 
what should we think of an attempt to persuade us, who are 
surrounded with the luxuries of a genial soil and climate, 
that our continent is an uninhabitable waste, because it 
contains within its limits, "rocky mountains," "dismal 
swamps," and " barrens ?" Mr. Park, the traveller, says, 
*' All the rich and valuable productions, both of the East and 
West Indies, might easily be naturalized, and brought to the 
utmost perfection in the tropical parts of this immense con- 
tinent. Nothing is wanting to this end, but example to en- 
lighten the minds of the natives, and instruction to enable 
them to direct their industry to proper objects. It was not 
possible for me to behold the wonderful fertility of the soil ; 
the vast herds of cattle, proper both for labor and food ; 
and a variety of other circumstances favorable to coloniza- 
tion and agriculture ; and reflect, withal, on the means 
which presented themselves of a vast inland navigation, 
without lamenting that a country so gifted and favored by 
nature, should remain in its present savage and neglected 
state." 

' Indeed, all tourists and journalists, who have explored 
the continent of Africa, whilst they find barren spots, pic- 
ture also widely-extended regions of the most exuberant 
and astonishing fertility — an exuberance aflfording so rich 
and spontaneous a profusion of productions, that the un- 
governed natives have not the necessary excitement to exer- 
tion. Liberia lays claim, supported by the testimony of 



208 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Resources. 



undoubted witnesses, to equal fertility with any other portion 
of the continent. 

' The colonists have all the domestic animals -svhich are 
found in this country. They raise a great variety of vegeta- 
bles and tropical fruits. Coffee grows spontaneously, and 
of an excellent kind. The attention of several of the most 
respectable colonists has been turned to its cultivation, and 
20,000 coffee trees have been planted by a single individual. 
The indigo plant is indigenous, and grows wild almost every 
where on the coast ; cotton is easily cultivated and the crops 
are productive ; the sugar-cane is found on many parts of the 
coast of Africa, and may be cultivated in Liberia ; rice is 
easy of cultivation, and has long been the principal article of 
food to the natives ; bananas of an excellent and delicious 
kind, plantains, oranges, fine flavored and very large, and 
limes, are common ; maize, or Indian corn, ripens in three 
months, and succeeds well ; pineapples are very good and 
in great abundance ; cocoanut trees flourish well ; pump- 
kins, squashes or simelins, cucumbers, watermelons, and 
muskmelons, arrive at great perfection in that climate ; cas- 
sada and yams are found in all parts of the coast, and are 
much used for food ; palm oil is produced in abundance ; 
tamarinds of various kinds ; gum Senegal and copal are arti- 
cles of export in vast quantities ; pepper, and a variety of 
other spices, including cayenne, ginger, cubebs, cardamum, 
nutmegs, and cinnamon, are common on the coast ; several 
valuable dye-woods are found, of which camwood and bar- 
wood are exported in considerable quantities ; gold abounds 
in many parts of Africa, and the amount exported may be 
greatly increased ; ivory is also a great article of commerce, 
and timber of almost every quality. All these, and many 
other productions, are found in Africa, and are, or may be, 
sources of advantage and of profit to the Liberian colony. 
The b.te colonial agent speaks of seeing at one of the beau- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 209 



Commerce of Liberia. 



tiful villages of the recaptured Africans, a tract of one hun- 
dred acres planted with cassada, interspersed with patches 
of Indian corn and sweet potatoes.' 

' The colony, I should think, would enjoy very considera- 
ble commercial advantages.' 

' Yes, Henry ; such is the position of the colony, that its 
commercial advantages are great. It is the central point in 
a long extent of sea coast ; and extensive relations of trade 
may be established between it and a vast interior. New 
avenues are continually opening with the interior tribes, and 
no one can calculate the importance which some parts of Li- 
beria may be expected to assume at some future, and not far 
distant day.' 

* The colony is already engaged considerably in com- 
merce, is it not, Sir V 

' Yes ; and, my son, it may be interesting to notice the 
progress which the colony is making in this department of 
wealth and prosperity. From January 7, 1826, to June 15, 
1326, the nett profits on wood and ivory alone, passing 
through the hands of the settlers, was $30,786. Passing on 
to 1829, we find the exports of African products to amount 
to $60,000. In 1831, 46 vessels, 21 of which were Ameri- 
can, visited the colony, and the amount of exports was 
$88,911. During the year ending May 1, 1832, 59 vessels 
had visited the port of Monrovia, and the exports during the 
same period amounted to $125,549 16, whilst the imports 
amounted to $80,000. 

' A portion of the colonists are continually and actively 
engaged in trade, disposing to the natives, of English and 
American, and other goods, and receiving in return dye- 
woods, ivory, hides, gold, palm oil, tortoise shell, rice, <fec., 
which become articles of exportation and of great profit. 

r2 



210 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Enterprise of Liberia.— Prosperity. 



' Hand in hand with the progress of civilization, will be 
the march of commerce. Even now, the harbor of Monro- 
via presents, at times, a most animating scene to the beholder, 
of commercial activity and enterprise. You may see there 
often the harbor whitened with sails — they are anchoring 
and taking their departure — lading and unlading — ware- 
houses are stored with rich cargoes — you hear the busy 
hum of industry — you see the alert movements of busy 
men, once, most of them, sluggard slaves ! Freedom has 
transformed them into another kind of men. 

* Elliott Cresson, Esq., a generous and constant friend 
of the African race, as well as sincere patriot, who has al- 
ready achieved for himself imperishable honor by his inde- 
fatigable and disinterested efforts in the cause of this noble 
philanthropy, thus expresses himself in an address before 
the Colonization Society, at their fourteenth anniversary, 
which was as long ago as 1831 : — " Only nine years have 
elapsed since the little band of colonists landed at the cape, 
and a nation has already sprang into existence — a nation des- 
tined to secure to iEthiopia the fulfilment of the glorious 
prophecy made in her behalf. Already have kings thrown 
down their crowns at the feet of the infant republic, and 
formed with her a holy alliance, for the holy purpose of ex- 
changing the guilty traffic in human flesh and blood for legi- 
timate commerce, equal laws, civilization and religion. 

' From many an ancient river, 

From many a palmy plain, 
They call us to deliver 

Their land from error's chain.' 

They ask for schools, factories, churches. Nearly 2,000 
freemen have kindled a beacon fire at Monrovia, to cast a 
broad blaze of light into the dark recesses of that benighted 
land ; and although much pains has been taken to overrate 
the cost, and undervalue the results, yet the annals of coloni- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 211 



Prosperity, 



zation may be triumphantly challenged for a parallel. Five 
years of preliminary operations were requisite for surveying 
the coast, propitiating the natives, and selecting the most eli- 
gible site ; numei*ous agents were subsequently employed, 
ships chartered, the forest cleared ; school-houses, factories, 
hospitals, churches, government buildings, and dwellings 
erected, and the many expenses requisite here defrayed ; and 
yet, for every $50 expended by our Society from its com- 
mencement, we have not only a settler to show, but an 
ample and fertile territory in reserve, where our future emi- 
grants may sit under their own vines and fig-trees with none 
to make them afraid. During the last year, an amount 
nearly equal to the united expenditures in effecting these ob- 
jects, has been exported by the colonists ; and from Phila- 
delphia alone, 11 vessels have sailed, bearing to the land of 
their forefathers a large number of slaves manumitted by the 
benevolence of their late owners." Much more may be said 
in reference to the greatness of the success of the colony at 
the present time.' 



212 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Climate. 



CONVERSATION XXII. 



"The condition of Africa, just in proportion ae she is improved, will re- 
flect beneficial influences on our own country. As Africa rises in the scale 
of improvement, and sends over the earth a respect for her name and her 
people, so shall we look with increasing interest and sympathy upon her de- 
graded children that are cast on our shores. And just in proportion as she 
emerges from barbarism, and puts on the garments of civilization, will she 
attract our colored people to return to her, and dispel the dread which is 
now common to them, of emigrating to a land of barbarism." — Gerrit Smith- 

' The unhealthiness of the climate, I suppose, is the 
greatest obstacle in the way of the prosperity of the colony 
at Liberia, is it not, Pa V said Caroline, on the conversation 
being resumed. 

' Liberia has the reputation among many of being un- 
healthy,' said Mr. L. ' If we should judge, however, only 
by the health of the natives on that part of the African coast, 
we should suppose it to be far otherwise. It is healthy, it 
appears, to acclimated emigrants. AVhen once acclimated, 
it is said by those who are competent to decide, and who 
could have no inducement to make an erroneous report, that 
Africa proves a more genial climate to the men of color than 
any portion of the United States. They enjoy, in Liberia, 
even now, a greater immunity from sickness, and the pro- 
portion of deaths is less than in Baltimore, Philadelphia, or 
New-York.' 

' Have not a great proportion of those who have emigrat- 
ed died soon after their arrival V 

' It was to be expected that during the early years of the 
colony ,many deaths would occur for want of suitable houses; 
on account of the fatigue and danger to which the colonists 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 213 



First selection of place unfortunate. 



were necessarily exposed ; and in consequence of the irre- 
gular mode of life at first almost unavoidable. 

' An unfortunate selection was made for theirs/ emigrants, 
which increased the mortality among them. They found it 
impossible to obtain at that time a more suitable place, and 
were compelled, by a variety of untoward circumstances, to 
make a temporary establishment in the low, unhealthy island 
of Sherbro. While here detained, endeavoring to purchase 
land, they were attacked by fatal disease, which carried off 
the agent of the Society and twenty out of eighty emigrants, 
together with two agents sent out by the United States Gov- 
ernment. The second expedition also suffered much by 
sickness and death. And deaths were also frequent among 
the colonists on their first arrival for some time. From 
1827 to 1832, however, five years, not one person in forty 
of those from the middle and southern States, died in Liberia 
from the change of climate. And later experience has proved 
that no unusual danger is to be apprehended by any who are 
sober, and have no radical defect of constitution. The 
change of climate, it was to be expected, would be felt more 
sensibly by those who go from the northern States, or from 
the mountainous parts of the middle States. 

' There is to me one consideration which amidst all that 
has been most discouraging in the early mortality of the 
African colony, has been comforting. It is this : whilst the 
mortality is to be attributed but partially to causes which 
cannot be controlled, the evil is limited to a single genera- 
tion : but the good accomplished by colonization is to bless 
all succeeding generations. The natives of no country en- 
joy better health than those of Africa ; and the children here- 
after born to those who emigrate, will be Africans, and know 
nothing of the dangers which their forefathers may have en- 
countered. 



214 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Discouragements at Jamestown and Plymouth. 



'The settlement of new places is generally atttended with 
trials by sickness. What is the fact in respect to the now 
flourishing state of Louisiana ? The colony of Ibberville 
was begun to be settled in 1699, and in the ensuing thirteen 
years, 2,500 colonists were landed there, out of whom only 
400 whites and 20 negroes remained at the end of that time ; on 
the Island of Orleans, where a settlement was begun in 1717, 
the early settlers died by hundreds ; and both settlements 
were given up once or twice, by those who began them, and 
commenced anew by other hands. It was so with James- 
town, Virginia ; it was so with Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
although in a northern climate. These both were desolated 
by sickness, and the mortality was far greater than it has 
ever been in Liberia. Five hundred emigrants at one time 
landed in Jamestown, and in less than five months their 
numbers were reduced to sixty. Disaster and defeat seemed 
to embitter all the struggles of the Pilgrim fathers at Ply- 
mouth. More than half their number died the first winter. 
And yet from the two feeble settlements, at Plymouth and 
Jamestown, has sprung a population which, in spite of dis- 
couragements, have erected towns, cities, and an empire ! 

' It has been remarked in regard to these early trials of 
colonies, by the eloquent and excellent Frelinghuysen, that 
"such has been the course of divine Providence with all 
colonies, of which either sacred or profane history affords us 
any account, that He intended to cherish or to establish. It 
is the moral and mental discipline which God would pre- 
scribe ; it is the discipline, of all others, calculated to throw 
the human mind upon its own resources — to try its strength 
— to call into action its powers, and, if there be energy 
within it or about it, it will be called into action. It tries its 
strength — its patience — its fortitude. In fact all the sterner 
virtues are created by this scheme of colonization. And it 
teaches, above all, other lessons, for man to learn — his deep 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 215 



Difficulties at Sierra Leone, 



dependence on divine power. How was it with the Jews, 
who were a called and chosen people ? Were they not sub- 
jected to trials and difficulties ? How did God act toward 
Lhem ? After years of gloomy and grinding bondage in 
Egypt, did he not send them to the land of promise ? He 
knew they were degraded and debased by moral and corpo- 
real bondage. And indeed their debasement we clearly learn 
from their complaints. He put them to the trials which 
iwait colonization. He led them through the howling wild- 
3rness. He required them to endure fatigue — to meet the 
snemy's onslaught. In the divine wisdom and mercy they 
were subjected to these conflicts, dangers and terrors, both 
ay night and by day. And when discipline had done its 
office, and when liberty and the promised land were in view, 
^and even then, they enjoyed not a bed of down,) even then 
ihey were to contend for every inch of land they were about 
to acquire." 

' In respect to Liberia, however, we are not reduced to 
ihe necessity of reasoning from analogy ; we have facts : 
colonies may be established on the coast of Africa, for co- 
onies have been established there, and are flourishing. The 
English colony at Sierra Leone, after many sad reverses in 
its infancy, is now a thriving territory with 20,000 inhabi- 
;ants. It was founded under the most unfavorable circum- 
stances, those who first composed it, coming from a northern 
atitude. Nova Scotia, or the streets of London. Besides 
aad habits prevailed among them, and did more for their de- 
struction than the climate. 

* This colony has ever been cherished by Christians and 
philanthropists in England, and is still, as an institution, full 
3f promise to Africa, and one that has conferred signal bless- 
ings on those who were once outcasts in Britain, although 
it has known no such prosperity as has attended the coloniz- 
ing of Liberia. The Liberian colonies are no longer an ex- 



216 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Difficulties attending new setilements. 

periment ; their present condition is such that they speak, 
for themselves, a disproval of all the predictions that have 
doomed them to destruction, and all the calumnies that have 
pronounced the enterprise a failure.' 

♦ There is great misapprehension in the public mind, I 
should think,' said C, 'in regard to the difficulties generally 
attendant upon the beginning of new settlements ; and es- 
pecially in regard to the difficulties which, in its first be- 
ginning, the colony of Liberia was called to encounter, as 
contrasted with those of similar enterprises.' 

' There is,' said Mr. L. ; ' and yet, so far are the trials of 
Liberia from being greater than has been the usual lot of 
similar enterprises, that the contrast is surprisingly in its 
favor. In fact, comparing its success with some other 
establishments, we may safely say that, after all that has 
been adverse, if a remarkable protection afforded the colony 
from enemies without, and exemption from the pestilence 
that walketh in darkness and the destruction that wasteth at 
noon-day, as well also from internal discord and convulsion, 
is any evidence of the favor of Providence, that colony surely 
enjoys the divine favor. 

' I will advert again to the early history of other colonies, 
for the facts in the case, and the instruction and encouragement 
which they furnish, are greatly important. If we look to 
Virginia, the situation and prospects of the Virginia colony 
in 1610, the first settlement of which was attempted in 
1585, and to which numerous reinforcements were despatch- 
ed from time to time during a term of twenty-five years, are 
thus depicted by Dr. Holmes, in his American Annals : 
" Smith left the colony furnished with three ships, good for- 
tifications, twenty-five pieces of cannon, arms, ammunition, 
apparel, commodities for trading, and tools for all kinds of 
labor. At Jamestown there were nearly sixty housee. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 217 



Difficulties attending new settlements. 



The settlers had begun to plant and to fortify at five or six 
other places. The number of inhabitants was nearly five 
hundred. They had just gathered in their Indian harvest, 
and, besides, had considerable provision in their stores. 
They had between five and six hundred hogs, an equal num- 
ber of fowls, some goats, and some sheep. They had also 
boats, nets, and good accommodations for fishing. But such 
was the sedition, idleness, and dissipation of this mad peo- 
ple, that they were soon reduced to the most miserable cir- 
cumstances. No sooner was Captain Smith gone, than the 
savages, provoked by their dissolute practices, and encourag- 
ed by their want of government, revolted, hunted and slew 
them from place to place. Nansemond, the plantation at 
the falls, and all the out-settlements, were abandoned. In a 
short time, nearly forty of the company were cut off" by the 
enemy. Their time and provisions were consumed in riot; 
their utensils were stolen or destroyed ; their hogs, sheep, 
and fowls killed and carried off" by the Indians. The sword 
without, and famine and sickness within, soon made among 
them surprising destruction. Within the term of six months, 
of their whole number, 500 persons, sixty only survived ! 
These were mostly poor, famishing wretches, subsisting 
chiefly on herbs, acorns, and berries. Such was the famine, 
that they fed on the skins of their dead horses ; nay, they 
boiled and ate the flesh of the dead. Indeed, they were 
reduced to such extremity, that had they not been relieved, 
the whole colony, in eight or ten days, would have been ex- 
tinct. Such are the dire efl^ects of idleness, faction, and want 
of proper subordination." The English, in fact, made four 
attempts to colonize Virginia before they succeeded. Once 
after a year's trial, the whole surviving remnant of the colony 
was transported back to England. 

*If we turn our mind to North Carolina, which was 
settled in 1668, we find, by Williamson's History, that in 



218 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Humanity pleads for colonization. 



1694, " the list of taxables did not exceed 787, being little 
more than half the number that were there in 1677, seven- 
teen years before. Such," Williamson continues, *' were 
the baneful effects of rapine, anarchy, and idleness.*' 

'In the Plymouth colony, commenced in 1620, besides 
the mortality to which we have before adverted, that swept 
off half their number in the first six months, they were sub- 
ject to much inconvenience by reason of " false-brethren," 
and were " often in great straits with the Indians." A 
slight knowledge of the early history of " the Pilgrims" 
will suffice to show a strong contrast in favor of Liberia, so 
far as the early difficulties of founding the colony are re- 
garded. At Plymouth, they received frequent reinforce- 
ments, and yet there remained but 300 colonists in the year 
1630. Two hundred persons, out of fifteen hundred, that 
came with John Winthrop to Boston in 1630, died in six 
months ! A sensible writer has well said, " what incalcu- 
lable benefits had been lost to the world, had the first set- 
tlers of these United States retired faint and despairing from 
ous shores, at the first blow and shock of calamity ? God be 
praised for their firmness of heart !" 

* Another consideration has been one of interest to me, 
amidst all discouraging reports concerning the health of the 
first emigrants ; if colonies can be once planted along the 
shores of Africa, and the slave-trade cut off, a vast sacrifice 
of life will thereby be prevented. In a single slave-ship, 
more persons have perished, often in indescribable agony, 
than have died from the influence of climate, since the origin 
of the colony of Liberia. The slave-trade, it has been well 
remarked by Judge Story of Massachusetts, "desolates 
whole villages and provinces. * * The blood of thou- 
sands of the miserable children of Africa has stained her 
shores, or quenched the dying embers of her desolated towns 
to glut the appetite of slave-dealers. The ocean has receiv- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 219 



Honor to be pioneers in this cause. 



ed in its deep and silent bosom, thousands more, who perish- 
ed from disease and want, during their passage from their 
native homes" to foreign climes. 

* It has been ascertained that an average of not less than 
100,000 per annum, have been transported from Africa, and 
that half the number have ordinarily died within two years, 
either during the passage or seasoning. Fifty thousand 
deaths every year, occasioned by the slave-trade ! In the 
name of humanity and of our holy religion, then, we may 
ask every one to judge whether the glorious work of esta- 
blishing civilized and Christian colonies along the coast of 
Africa shall be abandoned, because some few suffer and die 
in efforts to redeem themselves and save their dying fellow- 
men? The amount of suffering preve7ited and the lives saved 
by the American Colonization Society, is incalculable ; vastly 
more than all the sacrifice of life, and all the sufferings or 
privations which will ever be endured in accomplishing the 
regeneration of that great continent and the salvation of gene- 
ration after generation of untold millions. 

' To be useful, is to be blessed. And our Saviour has said 
" It is more blessed to give than to receive." They who 
laid the foundations of the colony at Liberia, will testify that 
they have already reaped a rich reward for all their toils. 
They willunitedly declare that the blessings now theirs, have 
a value far beyond the price they cost. When they look to 
the future — when they consider the privileges and blessings 
secured to their posterity, they feel that the worth of these 
is inestimable. And they who fell martyrs in sounding the 
trump of jubilee in the land of the oppressed — in a land 
of comparative barbarism ; to call the nations forth to the 
light and blessings of civilized life — in a land of blood and 
crime ; to hold up before the people the sign of the cross, 
that purity and peace, the hope of immortal glory and ever- 
lasting songs of salvation, may supplant the dark influence 



220 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Delightful climate for blacks. 



of the destroyer of souls ; have fallen in a noble attempt, 
and will be held in grateful remembrance by generations yet 
unborn. 

* A very sensible address is now before me, adopted "at a 
numerous meeting of the citizens of Monrovia," in Liberia, 
which speaks well to the point. The meeting, it seems, 
was called, and held at the court-house in Monrovia, in 1827, 
" for the purpose of considering the expediency of uniting 
in an address to the colored people of the United States." 
In the address they say, *' We enjoy health, after a few 
months' residence in this country, as uniformly, and in as 
perfect a degree as we possessed that blessing in our native 
country. * * Death occasionally takes a victim from our 
number, without any regard at all to his residence in the 
country ; but we never hoped by leaving America to escape 
the common lot of mortals. But we do expect to live as 
long, and pass this life with as little sickness as yourselves. 
* * Nothing like an epidemic has ever appeared in the 
colony ; nor can we learn from the natives, that the calami- 
ty of a sweeping sickness ever yet visited this part of the 
continent. The change from a temperate to a tropical coun- 
try is a great one — too great not to affect the health more or 
less. In the early years of the colony, want of good houses, 
the great fatigues and dangers of the settlers, their irregular 
mode of living, and the discouragements they met with, 
greatly helped the other causes of sickness which prevailed 
to an alarming extent, and was attended with great mortality. 
But we look back to those times as to a season of trial long 
past, and nearly forgotten." ' 

' I have no doubt,' said Caroline, ' that after the first sea- 
son, Liberia is a delightful climate for the blacks. They 
have constitutions probably better adapted to that climate 
than to ours.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 221 



Delightful climate for blacks. 



• Yes, Caroline, the colored man going to Africa, goes to 
the lands of his fathers, for a residence in which nature has 
peculiarly fitted him. We should sicken and die where the 
native African, invigorated under the influence of a vertical 
sun, glories in its blaze, and grapples with the lion of the 
desert. Expose the African to the cold blasts of a northern 
clime, he shivers and drags out a miserable existence, whilst 
the white man can bare his bosom to the blast. "Nature," 
says Mr. Custis, "seems to draw a line of demarcation be- 
tween the country of the white man and the black."* 

* It sometimes has been said that Europeans will, notwith- 
standing the planting of colonies along the coast, and after 
all that can be done for Africa, hold the mouths of the rivers 
emptying round the Cape of Western Africa ; and that the 
African will always, therefore, be measurably under the in- 
fluence of a promiscuous white population. To me, how- 
ever, it seems most obvious, that the elastic pressure of a 
colored population in Africa will, and must, ultimately, ex- 

*" There seems to be a peculiar fitness in placing the negro in Africa, 
when it is recollected that large portions of its immense tracts are suited 
only to his constitution. The white man will languish and die beneath a 
sun which is congenial to the nature ol" the black man. Nature herself, 
therefore, would seem to concur with philanthropy, unless it be thought that 
she designed those regions, which are so well calculated for the residence 
of the latter, and for him only, to lie waste and uninhabited." — Tyson. 

" If we look to that well-marked and vast peninsula, we find that equally 
marked race, the negro, with slight modifications, forming its native popula- 
tion throughout all its regions. We find the temperature of his blood, the 
cliemical action of his skin, the very te.'iture of his wool hair, all fitting him 
for the vertical sun of Africa ; and if every surviving African of the pre- 
sent day who is living in degradation and destitution in other lands, for 
which he was never intended, was actually restored to the peculiar land of 
his peculiar race, in independence and comfort, would any man venture to 
affirm, that Christianity has been lost sight of by all who had in any ways 
contributed to such a consummation? It matters not to brotherly love on 
which side of the Atlantic the negro is made enlightened, virtuous, and 
happy, if he is actually so far blessed ; but it does matter on which side of 
the ocean you place him, when there is only one where he will be happy 
AND respectable as benevolence would wish to see him, and certainly there, 
a rightly applied morality and religion would sanction his being placed. "-=. 
Edinburgh Phrenological Journal. 



222 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Aid from the United Stales. 



elude all other people. It is the land of the colored ; and we 
may confidently say of Africa, 

" Despite of every yoke she bears. 
That land of glory still is theirs." 

The advantage in physical constitution which the blacks 
will enjoy, is one which will give them decided superiority 
to all other people as occupants of the soil. The puny and 
sickly colonies of other nations can never compete with 
them. The sceptre of influence will, without a doubt, be 
ultimately wielded in Africa by those whom heaven has ap- 
pointed to wield it, the blacks themselves ; they will receive 
their character chiefly, I have no doubt, from emigrants going 
from our own shores. 

' We must now close the subject for the present. Each 
of us, I trust, in conclusion, can say from the heart, of that 
vast, injured, benighted, but awaking continent, 

" Oh ! to thy godlike destiny arise — 
Awake, and meet the purpose of the skies!" ' 



CONVERSATION XXIII 



"The removal of our colored population is, I think, a common object, by 
no means confined to the slave States, although they are more immediately 
interested in it. The whole Union would he strengthened by it, and re- 
lieved from a danger, whose extent can scarcely be estimated." — Marshall. 

' You observed in your last conversation,' said Henry, 
• that agents of the Government of the United States went 
out with the first emigrants sent to Africa by the Coloniza- 
tion Society : why were agents sent by the United States ?' 

* In the act of Congress for the suppression of the slave- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 223 



Aid from the United States. 



trade, passed in the year 1807, there was a clause by which 
negroes brought into the United States, in consequence of 
the law authorizing the capture of vessels engaged in the 
slave-trade, were to be "subject to any regulations not con- 
travening the provisions of the act, which the legislatures of 
the several States and Territories might make for the dispos- 
ing of such negroes." By an act of the Georgia legislature, 
in 1817, captured negroes brought into Georgia in pursuance 
of the aforesaid act of Congress, were to be sold, or deliver- 
ed to the Colonization Society to be returned to Africa. A 
slaver containing thirty-eight negroes was captured by one 
of the United States vessels, and brought into Georgia. The 
negroes were, according to law, advertised for sale. The 
Colonization Society, availing itself of the provisions of the 
law above referred to, applied for the slaves to be returned 
to Africa, paid as was necessary the expenses incurred on 
their account, and rescued the victims of piratical cupidity 
from perpetual slavery. Cases of this kind having previously 
occurred, had directed the attention of Congress to the ne- 
cessity of providing somewhere an asylum for recaptured 
negroes, and a law had been enacted authorizing the Presi- 
dent to make such regulations and arrangements as he might 
deem expedient for their safe-keeping, support, and removal 
beyond the limits of the United States, and also to appoint a 
proper person or persons residing on the coast of Africa, as 
agent or agents, in the fulfilment of such arrangements in 
respect to all negroes seized by United States' vessels. It 
was thought that the ends of this act could be better accom- 
plished by the aid of the Colonization Society ; and accord- 
ingly, the first expedition to Liberia, in 1820, was by the 
Colonization Society and the U. S. Government in conjunc- 
tion. The Elizabeth was chartered, and took to the coast 
two Government agents, one Colonial agent, and about 
eighty emigrants, the latter of whom were to be employed 



224 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Ashman's defence of the colony. 



at the expense of the Government in preparing accomnaoda- 
tions for thereception of the recaptured negroes.' 

* This expedition, Sir, you remarked, were very unfortu- 
nate in their location, which you said was on the river Sher- 
bro : is that in Liberia ?' 

* No, Henry ; it is 200 miles north of Liberia, and 100 
miles south of Sierra Leone. It was not until 1822, that a 
permanent location was obtained at Cape Mesurado.' 

* The colony had much difficulty with the natives at its 
commencement, had it not V 

* They had ; and perhaps it has been correctly said that 
no struggle of ancient or modern times surpasses the defence 
which that little band of colonists made. The lamented 
Ashmun, forced in opposition to all his habits and feelings, 
to become a warlike commander, acquitted himself in a man- 
ner that discovered military skill of the highest order. With- 
out ever aspiring to military renown, he shone forth, a hero 
in arms, whose coolness, firmness, wisdom, and courage 
could hardly be surpassed. The little band of thirty-five Af- 
rican emigrants, about one half of whom only were engaged 
in action, were threatened by a host, whose numbers were 
untold, and destruction seemed inevitable. Ashmun was 
himself sick, of fever; and was, besides, in great affliction, 
having just buried his wife, an amiable and heroic woman 
who insisted on sharing her husband's toils and dangers in 
Africa ; but notwithstanding, he rose from the bed of sick- 
ness, and day by day, after tossing with the delirium of a 
burning fever through the night, spent his time in directing 
his little band in constructing their hasty and imperfect de- 
fences, and teaching them to manage their artillery, and how 
to succor each other in their defence. The result was, the 
natives were successfully repulsed, and the colony was saved 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 225 



Ashman's death. 



from destruction ; whilst such an impression was made on 
the natives as put to rest, probably for ever, any thought of 
a similar attempt.' 

* I suppose,' said Henry, ' it is in reference to this exploit 
particularly, that Ashmun is sometimes called the founder of 
the colony of Liberia ? Mr. Ashmun died at New Haven — 
I have seen his monument — he died soon after arriving there 
from Liberia for his health. But, falling a victim to his de- 
votion to the cause of colonization, I am sure that he nobly 
died, in a noble cause.' 

' Yes : Mr. Ashmun's great and untiring efforts continu- 
ing through nearly six years of constant anxiety and labor 
in Africa, destroyed his physical constitution and brought 
him to a premature grave ; but he fell nobly. Mr. Ash- 
mun's life, so far at least as is connected with Africa, in 
which we are now more particularly interested, you will find 
full of interest.' 

' Where was Mr. Ashmun born, Pa, and how came he to 
embark in the colonization cause, as an agent to Africa V 

* Mr. A., whose Christian name was Jehudi, was born in 
Cham plain, N. Y., in 1794. I will relate, if you please, 
some of the leading incidents of his history as they occur, 
on recollection. Li his childhood, Mr. A. was thoughtful 
and reserved, remarkably fond of books and ambitious of 
literary distinction. In his studies he made rapid progress. 
He became a devoted Christian in the morning of his days. 
He graduated at Burlington College, Vt., and soon after en- 
tering the ministry was elected Professor in the Theological 
Seminary at Bangor, Me. After leaving that Seminary, he 
became a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He 
prepared the Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel Bacon, the earliest 
martyr in the cause of colonization ; and, after other efforts 



226 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

Ashraun dies praying for Africa. 

to advance the cause, by which his feelings were more and 
more deeply interested, he embarked for Africa in 1822. In 
Africa, he found himself unexpectedly in a situation where 
he must be of necessity legislator, engineer, soldier, physi- 
cian ; almost every thing that was needed, his benevolent 
heart inclined, and his superior talents enabled him to be. 
Emphatically a good man, he enjoyed the confidence of the 
colonists, and of the Board, and shared in the warmest affec- 
tions of all that kiiew him. 

' The scene, at his death, is represented as one of true 
moral sublimity. He died, as you have said, at New Ha- 
ven, a few days after his return from Africa, whose shores 
he had left with feeble health, hoping to find the voyage and 
a short residence in his native country, conducive to its re- 
storation. It was otherwise ordered. His last moments were 
spent in fervent prayer. Africa was not forgotten. " O bless 
the colony,''^ was his cry, " and that poor people among 
whom I have labored.'^'' 

' He has left a name to be remembered by generations to 
come, when many who may now be far more conspicuous, 
will be forgotten. The gratitude of the Colonization Society* 
directed the monument to his memory which you saw at 
New Haven, but his best monument is in the hearts of the 
people, and that record of him which is on high. 

* A monument has also been raised to h»is memory in Liberia. The mo- 
nument at ]\ew Haven is alter the model of an ancient monument still in 
perfection at Rome, " the tomb of Scipio." Dr. Silliman describes it as 
"grave, grand, simple, and beautiful." It is constructed of tlie Connecticut 
red sand stone, of the finer variety, seven feet long, four high, three and a 
half wide, raised on a foundation of one foot. It is said above, that the gra- 
titude of the Colonization Society directed this monument ; but it is believed 
and should be stated that the whole expense was borne by the spontaneous 
contributions and united liberality of friends of humanity and religion, pre- 
venting the necessity of making any appropriation towards it from the funds 
of the Society, and at the same time furnishing a most honorable attestation 
of the gratitude and respect with which his devotion to the best interests of 
the world is regarded, and of the sincere affection with which his memory 
is cherished by those " who have learned to love and to admire the sub- 
limity and glory of virtue." 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 227 



Ashmun. 



" Although no sculptured form should deck the place, 
Or marble monument those ashes grace, 
Still, for the deeds of worth, which he has done, 
Would flowers unfading flourish o*er his tomb." ' 

' A favorite poetess has embalmed his memory,' said 
Caroline : ♦ shall I repeat her words V 

" Whose is yon sable bier ? 

Why move the throng so slow ? 
Why doth that lonely mother's tear. 

In sudden anguish flow ? 
Why is that sleeper laid 

To rest, in manhood's pride ? 
How gain'd his cheek such pallid shade? 

I spake — but none replied. 

The hoarse wave murmured low. 

The distant surges roar'd — 
And o'er the sea, in tones of wo, 

A deep response was poured. 
I heard sad Afric mourn, 

Upon her billowy strand; 
A shield was from her bosom torn, 

An anchor from her hand. 

Ah I well 1 know thee now, 

Though foreign suns would trace 
Deep lines of death upon thy brow — 

Thou friend of misery's race ; 
Their leader, when the blast 

Of ruthless war swept by ; 
Their teacher, when the storm was past, 

Their guide to worlds on high. 

But o'er the lowly tomb, 

Where thy soul's idol lay, 
I saw thee rise above the gloom. 

And hold thy changeless way. 
Stern sickness woke a flame. 

That on thy vigor fed — 
But deathless courage nerv'd the frame, 

When health and strength had fled. 



228 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Government of Liberia. 



on 



Spirit of power — pass 

Thy homeward wing is free ; 
Earth may not claim thee for her son-— 

She hath no chain for thee : 
Toil might not bow thee down, 

JVor sorrow check thy race — 
Nor pleasure win thy birthright crown,- 

Go to thy honor'd place !" 



CONVERSATION XXIV 



" We must plead the cause of Africa on her own shores. We must en- 
lighten the Africans themselves on the nature of this evil. We must raise 
in their minds a fixed abhorrence of its enormities. There will be no ships 
with human cargoes if we cut off the supply. We must by our settlements 
point the African kidnapper to a more profitable commerce than that in the 
blood and heart-strings of his M\ow-men."—Frelinghuysen. 

' We should like to know this evening, Pa, something 
more of Liberia. What is the government of the colonies V 

* The government is in a great measure republican ; and 
is designed expressly to prepare the colonists ably and suc- 
cessfully to govern themselves. For the first, or parent co- 
lony, at Monrovia, a form of government was, in August 1824, 
submitted to the assembled colonists, and by them unani- 
mously adopted. The colonial agent of the original colony 
receives his appointment from the Board of Managers of the 
Colonization Society, and it is generally expected that he 
will be a white man. All the other officers are men of color, 
the most important of whom are elected annually by the 
people. Besides other officers. Boards of Agriculture, of 
Public Works, of Health, Sic. are chosen, and the whole 
business of the colony is conducted with spirit and with 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 229 



Literary advantages. 



much wisdom. A Court of justice is established, which 
consists of the agent, and two judges chosen by the people, 
and exercises jurisdiction over the whole colony, meeting 
monthly at Monrovia. It is a highly honorable fact that no 
capital crime has ever been committed in the colony. The 
crimes usually brought before the court are thefts committed 
by natives within the colonial jurisdiction. 

* The government of the colonies at Cape Palmas and Bassa 
Cove, is similar to that of the old colony. The respective 
societies which planted these last, appoint the Governor of 
each. A Constitution has recently been proposed, designed 
for the General Government of Liberia, rendered necessary 
by the multiplication of colonies. This constitution propos- 
ing a durable foundation for the future union, freedom, and 
independence of the colonies, provides that the several colo- 
nial settlements planted in Liberia, on the principles of the 
American Colonization Society, shall be united under one 
government. The old colony is to be known as the colony 
of Monrovia ; the colonies at Cape Palmas and Bassa Cove 
are to retain their present denomination, or to receive such 
other, together with other colonies which may be planted, 
as the societies planting them may respectively bestow. 
The constitution also provides for a legislature to be entitled 
the Congress of Liberia, an executive, a supreme judiciary, 
&c. &c.' 

* Do the colonists pay proper attention to education, and 
have they any considerable literary advantages V 

* The subject of education has ever been one of primary 
importance with the Board of Colonization, and the interests 
of literature are promoted as far as circumstances permit. In 
1830, the Board established permanent schools in the towns 
of Monrovia, Caldwell, and Millsburgh. They adopted a 
thorough system of instruction, which is now in successful 



^0 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Teslimony o( Dr. Shane. 



operation. There are two female schools conducted on li- 
beral principles, one of which was established by a lady in 
Philadelphia, who sent out the necessary books and teachers. 
It is said that there is not a child or youth in the colony but 
is provided with an appropriate school. Some of these 
schools have valuable libraries. There is a public library at 
Monrovia which contains between 1200 and 2000 volumes. 
A printing press is in operation there, issuing a weekly and 
well conducted gazette, the " Liberia Herald." It is inte- 
resting to look over this sheet and see the various advertise- 
ments, notices of auctions, parades, marriages, &:c., together 
with its marine list, and items of news, as if the print were 
issued from the midst of an old and long established commu- 
nity.' 

• I do not see but they have in Liberia already the ele- 
ments of wealth and greatness. They are beginning to be 
a commercial community ; and, with an agricultural interior 
in prospect, and they a civilized and Christian people, what 
is there to prevent their ultimate prosperity V 

' Their prospects are bright, Henry, very bright. 'J'heir 
progress, hitherto, has certainly been rapid and truly won- 
derful. Dr. Sliane, of Cincinnati, went with a company of 
emigrants to Liberia in 1832, sailing from New- Orleans ; 
and, among other things, writes, *' I see not in Liberia as 
line and splendid mansions as in the United States ; nor as 
extensive and richly stocked farms as the well tilled lands of 
Ohio ; but I see a fine and very fertile country, inviting its 
poor and oppressed sons to thrust in their sickles and gather 
up its fullness. I here see many who left the United States 
in straightened circumstances, living with all the comforts of 
life around them ; enjoying a respectable and useful station 
if) society, and wondering that their brethren in the United 
litates, who have it in their power, do not flee to this asylum 



PLEA. FOR AFRICA. 231 



Testimony of Caplains Kennedy, Nicholson and Abels. 

of happiness and liberty, where they can enjoy all the un- 
alienable rights of man. * I do not think an unprejudiced 
person can visit here without becoming an ardent and sincere 
friend of colonization. I can attribute the apathy and indif- 
ference on which it is looked by many, as arising from ig- 
norance on the subject alone, and would that every free co- 
lored man in the United States could get a glimpse of his 
brethren, their situation and prospects. * Let but the co- 
lored man come and see for himself, and the tear of gratitude 
will beam in his eye, as he looks forward to the not far dis- 
tant day, when Liberia shall take her stand among the nations 
of the world, and proclaim abroad an empire founded by be- 
nevolence, offering a home to the poor, oppressed, and 
weary.' Nothing but a want of knowledge of Liberia, pre- 
vents thousands of honest, industrious free blacks from rush- 
ing to this heavon-blessed land, where liberty and religion, 
with all their blessings, are enjoyed." ' 

' Are the colonists generally contented and happy in their 
situation V 

'Captain Kennedy, who visited Liberia in 1831, says, 
"with impressions unfavorable to the scheme of the Coloni- 
zation Society, I commenced my inquiries." The colonists 
*' considered that they had started into a ntiv existence. * 
They felt themselves proud in their attitude.'" He further 
says, " many of the setders appear to be rapidly acquiring 
property ; and I have no doubt they are doing belter for them- 
selves and for their children, in Liberia, than they could do 
in any other part of the world." Captain Nicholson, of the 
United States' Navy, gave as favorable a report. Captain 
Abels says, " My expectations were more than realized. I 
saw no intemperance, nor did I hear a profane word uttered 
by any one. I know of no place where the Sabbath seems 
to be more respected than in Monrovia." 



232 rLEA FOR AFRICA, 



reslimony of a British officer, Governor Mechlin and Captain Slierrnan. 



* A distinguished British naval officer, who passed three 
years on the African coast, published a favorable notice of 
the colony, in the Amulet for 1832, in which he bears this 
testimony ', — " The complete success of tliis colony is a 
proof that the negroes are, by proper care and attention, as 
susceptible of the habits of industry, and the improvements 
of social life, as any other race of human beings ; and that 
the amelioration of the condition of the black people on the 
coast of Africa, by means of such colonies, is not chimerical. 
Wherever the influence of the colony extends, the slave- 
trade has been abandoned by the natives, and the peaceable 
pursuits of legitimate commerce established in its place. 
They not only live on terms of harmony and good will to- 
gether, but the colonists are looked upon with a certain de- 
gree of respect by those of their own color ; and the force of 
their example is likely to have a strong effect in inducing the 
people about them to adopt it. A few colonies of this kind, 
scattered along the coast, would be of ialiniie value in im- 
proving the natives." 

* Governor Mechlin has said, " As to the morals of the co- 
lonists, I consider them much better than those of the people 
of the United States ; i. e. you may take an equal number of 
the inhabitants from any section of the Union, and you will 
find more drunkenness, more profane swearers and Sabbath- 
breakers, than in Liberia. You rarely hear an oath, and as 
to riots and breaches of the peace, I recollect but one instance, 
and that of a trifling nature, that has come under my notice 
since I assumed the government of the colony." Captain 
Sherman has said, '• There is a greater proportion of moral 
and religious characters in Monrovia than in the city of Phi- 
ladelphia." 

' The Rev. Beverly R. Wilson, (an intelligent coh)red min- 
ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church,) spent fourteen 
months in Liberia, \y))ich he visited at his o\vn expense, to 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



233 



Testimony of Rev. Beverly R. Wilson. 



ascertain whether he could find tlierean advantageous home 
for himself and fiimily. His statements are received by all 
who know him, as entitled from his character to entire con- 
fidence. On his return in 1835, he says, ." Liberia for eli- 
gibility of situation is not often excelled, and the facilities 
held out for a comfortable living rarely equalled ; industry 
and economy are sure to be rewarded and crowned with a 
rrenerous competency, for proof of which I cite you to a 
Williams, to a Roberts, to a Barbour. The successful pro- 
secution of any enterprise in Afiicn, (as in America) depends 
to a very great extent \ipon the amount of capital invested — 
money is power every where, put particularly so in Africn, 
and he who emigrates thither with capital, possesses decid- 
ed and very great advantages over every other class of emi- 
grants ; a small capital I esteem of paramount importance, 
and would by all means persuade my colored friends, who 
intend to etnigrate, to provide themselves with the means to 
commence business previous to going. This I esteem of 
vital importance, and ought not to be neglected. The soil 
of Africa is exceedingly fertile, and will produce as much to 
the acre as the famous lands of the great valley of the Mis- 
sissippi, Fruits of several kinds are abundant, and from 
experiments made, most of the tropical fruits succeed as 
well as in their native clime. But little attention thus far has 
been paid to agriculture, owing to the fact that but few emi- 
grants possess the means to embark in it. The cultivation of 
tlie land is attended with the same expense there as here, and 
the same obstacles present themselves to persons destitute of 
money. Timber, of various descriptions abounds, some of 
which would not for beauty and durability lose by a compari- 
son with the mahogany of St. Domingo, or of any other 
country. I have seen articles of cabinet ware manufactur- 
ed in Monrovia that would grace our most fashionable houses, 
and would vie for beauty and taste with most of the same 

t8 



234 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Testimony of Rev. Beverly R. Wilson. 



articles made in this country. As it regards the health of 
the colony, I consider it as good as that of most of the south- 
ern States. The Aborigines live to an advanced period, and 
are unquestionably the most athletic, hardy race of men that 
I have ever seen. They are remarkably shrewd and cun- 
ning, and are very far from being those *' dolts" or *' idiots," 
which they have been represented to be ; many of them read 
and write, and are very frequently an over-match for the co- 
lonists in trade. * * The morals of the Cv)Ionists I regard 
as superior to the same population in almost any part of the 
United States. A drunkard is a rare spectacle, and when 
exhibited is put under ihe ban of public opinion at once. To 
the praise of Liberia be it spoken, I did not hear during my 
residence in it, a solitary oatii uttered by a settler ; this abom- 
inable practice has not yet stained its moral character and 
reputation, and Heaven grant that it never may. In such de- 
testation is the daily use of ardent spirits held, that two of 
the towns have already prohibited its sale, or rather confined 
the sale to the apothecaries* shops. In Monrovia it is still 
viev.-ed as an ::r;icle of tralFic and merchandise, but it is de£-> 
tined there to share the same fate. The Temperance So- 
ciety is in full operation and will ere long root it out. The 
Sabbath is rigidly observed and respected, and but few cases 
occur of disorder, and they are confined to the baser sorts, a 
few of which infest Liberia. Religion and all its institutions 
are greatly respected ; in fact a decided majority are Re- 
ligionists, and by their pious demeanor are exerting a very 
salutary influence, not only upon the emigrants but also upon 
the natives, among whom a door has been opened for the 
propagation of Christianity."* 

*Mr. Wilson, addressinghiraself to the colored people in this country, con- 
cludes by saying, " If you desire liberty, surely Liberia holds out great and 
disiinguislied inducements. Here, you can never be free; hut there, liv- 
ing uiider iheadrainistration of the iavvs enacted by yourselvfes, you may ea^ 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 235 



Testimony of Dr. Skinner. 



* Dr. Skinner, formerly Governor of Liberia, who relumed 
to this country, Nov. 1836, in his report to the Board of Man- 
agers of the American Colonization Society, says, "The 
industry of the colonists is evidentally on the increase, and 
their attention has of late been especially turned towards ag- 
riculture. There appears to be a general conviction resting 
on the minds of the people that they must raise their own 
provisions, and not be dependent either on the natives or for- 
eigners for the necessaries of life. Several of the colonists 
have, during the past season, raided corn and rice in consid- 
erable quantities, and some are beginning to cultivate the cot- 
ton plant and sugar cane, while others are preparing exten- 
sive coffee plantations." Dr. S. says further, "The mor- 
tality has been less than it has been genenilly estimated, and 
greatly less than took place in the colonization of this coun- 
try.*' Dr. S. says, that he "laid out one hundred and six- 
teen farms for the New Georgians," whilst he was with the 
colony, and further, "I visited New Georgia a few days be- 
fore I left the colony, and was pleased to see the increased 
energy with which they had cultivated their lands, and the 
luxuriant crops of corn, cassada, rice and potatoes, with 
which their ground was covered, which but a few months 
before, was impassable to man. The sight was an ample 
compensation for all my toils, and all my sufferings. It is 
believed, by those who are well able to judge, that these in- 
dustrious citizens, in the past season, have raised four times 
the crops that they have obtained in any previous year." 

joy ttiat freedom wliicli in the very nature of tilings you cannot experieieeff 
ki thijt country. 

Liberia, happy land ! thy shore 

Entices wiih a thousaiui charms; 
And calls — his wonted thraldom o'er — 
tier ancient exile to her arms. 

Come hither, son of A Trie, come, 

And o'er the wide and weltering Bcfl^ 

Behr>ld thy lost yet lovely home, 
Tiiat foMdiy waits lo welcome ihee. 



236 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Testimony o( Mr. Buchanan. 



' Mr. Buchanan, late Governor of the Colony at Rassa Cove 
and recently returned to this country, says " the colonists 
are prosperous, contented, and happy. Although all express 
the warmest affection for America, if you were to ask them 
whether they do not wish to return, they would laugh at you." 
At Monrovia, Mr. B. " attended a colonization meeting, at 
which the warmest gratitude was expressed toward the so- 
cieties in this country and the highest eulogium passed upon 
their benevolent enterprise, not only without a dissenting 
voice, but with enthusiasm."* He " also attended their 



*Al this meeting of the citizens of Monrovia, it was Resolved, That this 
meeting enlertam ihe uarmesl giatilnde lor uhat tlie Colonization Society 
have done for the people oV coh)r, and (or lis particularly, and that we re- 
gard the scheme as eniilled to the highest confidence oi every man of color. 
Also, whereas, it has been widely and malicionsiy circulated, initie United 
States of America, that the inhabitants ot this colony, are unhappy in their 
Biluation, and anxious to return : Resolved, that the report is liiise and ma- 
licious, and originated only in a design to injure the colonv, by calling off 
the support and sympathy of its friends : that, so (ar from a desire to return, 
we would regard such, an event as the gr^^atest calamity that could belali us. 
Among the sentiments expressed hy diffi'rent individuals at tliis meeting, 
wore the foilovvinir, as reported in the Liberia Herald : 

Mr. David WhTie, vvlio arrived in Africa, May 24, 1828, said, "Never 
have [ seen the moment in which I repined at ccsming to the colony. M7 
obJHCl in coming was litier:y, fi>r which 1 am willing loendiire greater harri- 
Bhips than those I have already encountered. And under the firm convic- 
tion tiiat Africa is the only place, under existing circiimslances, where Uie 
man of color can enjoy the inestimable bles-siiigs of liberty and equality. 
I feel grateful beyond expression to the American Colonization Society for 
preparing this peaceful asylum." 

Mr. George Baxter remarked, " I beg the liberty, on this occasion, to ex- 
press my deep gratilmle to the American Cohmization Society, fiir the great 
delivenmce efiecied by them of myself and family. I thank God that he 
ever nut it in their hearts lo seek out this free soil. I and my family were 
Ixirn in Charlesion, Souih Carolina, under the appellation of free people ; but 
freedom we never knew until, by the benevolence of the Colonization 
Society, we were conveyed to the shores of Africa." 

Mr.R. Matthews, who arrived in Lilieria in the year 1832, said, "My 
place of residence was tlie city of VVasliingt(m, D. C, where I passed f )r a 
freeman. But 1 can now say, I vyas never tree, until I landed on the shores 
of Africa." 

Mr. David Logan, sa'd, "My situation is greatly altered for the hfctfer, 
by coming to Airica. My object was liberty and equality ; under n convic- 
tion, founded on experience, ibat thecoloreil man cannot enjoy them in the 
United States. I have been in this colony aljont ten years, and when 1 arriv- 
ed here, was without a dollar ; yet, as poor as ihe country is said to be, f find 
tho industrious can make a comfortable living. My political knowledge ta 



Plea for Africa. 237 



Testimony of Mr. Buchanan. 



courts, and was graiified to observe the perfect good order 
and decorum wiih which their proceedings were conducted. 
The dignity and good sense of the judges, the slirewdness 
and legal acumen of the counsel, tlie patient attention of tho 
jury — all, of course, colored men." As to the climate, Mr. 
Buchanan says, " it is entirely a mistake to suppose that it is 
destructive of health." He " went there with his mind filled 
with the graphic pictures, drawn by the prolific pencil of the 
poet, of burning sands, mephitic marshes and scorching 
winds ; but saw nor felt neither." He " was struck with the 
beautiful luxuriance of the soil. And as to the heat, the re- 
sult of the regular thermometrical observations taken at Bassa 
Cove, was, that in the hot season the mercury ranged between 
eighty and eighty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, and in the cold 
or wet season, it seldom falls lower than seventy. There is 
besides a continual and refreshing breeze from the sea, dur- 
ing the day, and from the land during the night." During 
his residence at Bassa Cove " not a single death had occur- 
red in the colony, which consists of about two hundred per- 
sons. Monrovia, one of the old settlements, is less favored 

far superior to what it would have been had I remained in America a thou- 
•and years." 

Mr. James R. Cheesman observed, " Mr. Chairman. I cannot on this oc- 
casion suppress my feelings. Animated hy the past, and encouraged by the 
bright prospects which lie bef()re iis. loi us proceed undauntedly in our 
noble career. Let us appeal to ilie pious, the liberal, and the wise: let us 
bear in mind the condition of our fitiiers. When assembled on the shores 
of America they embarked amid the scoffs and false predictions of the as- 
sembled multitude — and succeeded, in spile of all the perils of the ocean 
and dangers of the forest, in laying the tiiundation of this infant republic." 

One other resolution ofihe above meeting was, on motion o( the very re- 
spectableand talented editor of the Herald. Mr. Hilary "^renge. also a color- 
ed man: " Resolved, That this meeting view with regret the degree to which 
the anti-colonizationists of America carry their opposition. That they re- 
gard the opposition oC the ariti-colonizaiionists as detrimental to the true in- 
terest of the colored people generally. That their uiinieasiired abuse of the 
colonization scheme is unholy and tinjusi. That the degree to which they 
uniformly slander and misrepresent this colony, goes a great way to dis- 
credit their profession ttf disinterested henevolence; and we beseech ihera 
by all that we suffered in America — by all ihat ue have suffered here — by 
all the bright prcwpecis before us. and by a regard to iheir own character, 
t» scandalize and vilify us no more." 



238 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Testimony of" Mr. Buchanan. 



in point of heallhfulness. There are low groumls in its vi- 
cinity, which operate against it. This, however, is the only- 
exception. The colonists, throughout Liberia, are general- 
ly moral and temperate, and a large number of them profess- 
ino- Christians. At Bassa Cove the introduction of ardent 
spirits is prohibited. The occupations of the people are 
mechanical, mercantile, and agricultural. In the old colonies 
many of the citizens have become wealthy. Such is the re- 
spect with which the native blacks regard the colonists, that 
many of them of high rank in their tribes have considered 
it a great favor to be permitted to put their sons in the fami- 
lies of the 'America men,' as servants, for the purpose of 
learning their language and manners. These on their return 
to their homes act as so many missionaries of civilization — 
rough and uncouth, indeed, but sufficiently improved to make 
their savage associates conscious of their own inferiority, and 
to increase their respect for the colonists." ' 

' You have intimated that there have been some accounts 
of a contrary character V 

'There have been some few instances of dissatisfied emi- 
orants, who have made, in some respects, a different report; 
but it has been confidently believed that they were prompted 
by feelings growing out of the peculiar circumstances in their 
individual case. They were certainly not of such a charac- 
ter as to invalidate or discredit the testimony of the many 
judicious, impartial, and highly respectable persons who 
have borne opposite testimony.' 

' I should think, Sir, from what you have told us of the 
number of the churches in Liberia, that the religious privi- 
leges of the colony arc great V 

' Much is done to promote the cause of religion in the co- 
lony, and this seems always to be an object of much solici- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 239 



Religious privileges. 



tude on the part of the Colonization Society. The churches 
in Liberia are generally well supplied with respectable and 
faithful ministers. In all these churches there are Sunday 
schools established, to which the most promising young peo- 
ple in the colony have attached themselves either as teachers 
or as scholars. The Sunday schools are also furnished with 
libraries. 

' I have in the pamphlet before me, which was printed in 
Monrovia, the *' minutes of the first Convention of the Li- 
beria Baptist Association," by which it appears that there 
are in the colony of Liberia six Baptist churches, compris- 
ing about 220 members, located in the different settlements. 
These minutes represent the Baptist churches as in a flour- 
ishing condition ; and the proceedings of the convention 
and their circular to the churches, evince talent, judgment, 
and piety, of a very respectable order. I will give you one 
extract from these minutes: "Princes shall come out of 
Egypt, Eihiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God, 
is the prediction of a holy prophet, uttered ages antecedent 
to the advent of the Messiah. And when we reflect on the 
midnight darkness, which, from time immemorial, has shroud- 
ed this portion of Africa, we hail with rapture, the first dawn- 
ing of that glorious gospel-day which is signified in this 
oracle. * * lie, with whom a thousand years is as a day, 
and a day as a thousand years, works his own sovereign 
will, and effects his purposes of grace and goodness, in a 
manner above the comprehension of men. For ages, Africa 
has been ' meted out and trodden down.' Iler deep moral 
degradation seems, by universal consent, to have been justi- 
fication in regarding her as lawful plunder, and as a land on 
which a curse rests. But we rejoice that these days are 
going by. The darkness of ages is yielding to the bright 
rising of the ' Sun of righteousness.' Idolatry and supersti- 
tion are retiring before Christianity and civilization, and on 



240 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Keligious privileges. 



the mountain lop, once defiled by sacrifices to devils, the 
banner of the cross is unfurled, while a voice in the wilder- 
ness is proclaiming: * The kingdom of heaven is at hand,' 
repent and believe the gospel." 

' I have here also the " Report of the Liberia Mission of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the minutes of their 
Annual Conference in Liberia in 1835." Tliis document is 
full of interest, and displays the same zeal, energy, and 
ability which you find generally among ihe colonists. Of 
the conference, the lepori says, " The greatest harmony and 
peace prevailed during our session, and it is confidently 
hoped that this liule band of ambassadors for Christ have 
gone to their respective appoinlmenls with increasing zeal in 
the cause of their Divine Master, and holy resolutions to 
spend and be spent in the blessed work of winning souls 
for God. * * Our love-fenst and sacramental occasions were 
attended by manifestations of the Holy Spirit of God, in 
the quickening of his children, the conviction and conver- 
sion of souls, and the spread of divine truth. The altar 
was thronged on the last evening with weeping, broken- 
hearted seekers of Christ and his great salvation. Having 
been very affectionately requested by our brethren of both 
Baptist churches to occupy their pulpits throughout the 
meeting, and especially on the Sabbatii, we appointed la- 
borers accordingly ; so that the word of life was dispensed 
nine limes on Sunday in the town of Monrovia by preachers 
of the Methodist conference. May he who giveth the in- 
crease, water the goo.l seed from on high, that it may bring 
forth abundantly to his eternal glory." It would seem by 
the minutes that the number of ministers of this denomina- 
tion in the colony, was, at the beginning of 1835, twelve; 
and the number of communicants upwards of 200. The 
report also speaks of the appointment of a missionary *' for 
the interior of Africa, to carry the light of the gospel of 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 241 



Religious privileges. 



Jesus Christ into the dark regions of this benighted land." 
The appointment, it is said, seems to be regarded by the 
members of the conference with the warmest approbation, 
and one good result already discovered from it is the awaken- 
ing a missionary spirit among the preachers. Several are 
ready to say, " Here are we, send us. We covet the pri- 
vilege of carrying the gospel to the heathen tribes." The 
Report concludes, " If we are to judge from the appearance 
of the fields around us, which are already 'white unto 
harvest,' we should conclude that * the set time to favor Zion 
has come,' yea, that ' now is the accepted time, now is the 
day of salvation.' Men and brethren, help ! O help to dis- 
enthral poor bleeding Africa from the hellish grasp of the 
enemy of all righteousness ! Help to promote the moral 
and religious prosperity of this infant colony, destined as it 
is to be rendered the savor of life unto life to this benighted 
continent !" 

* In a number of the Liberia Herald, which is now before 
me, dated February 28, 1836, 1 find pleasing evidence of 
the advancement of the colony in all that is ^ood, and of 
the rich blessings which God designs to pour through it 
upon a benighted continent, in the fact that a number of na- 
tives who had been brought under the influence of the gos- 
pel, and had been for some time communicants in one of the 
Baptist churches, have been dismissed from that particular 
church to form a new one in a situation more advantageous 
to their extended usefulness. I will give you the article 
announcing this event, as I find it in the Monrovia paper ; 
" On Sunday, the 7th inst., thirty-six native Africans, resi- 
dent at New Georgia, late members of the First Baptist 
Church in this place, having been dismissed by letters, were 
brought into visibility as a church, in the place of their re- 
sidence. Sermon by Rev. Dr. Skinner, charge and right 
hand of fellowship by Rev. H. Teage, and concluding 



242 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Religious privileges. 



prayer by Rev. A. W. Anderson. The exercises of the oc- 
casion were truly solemnly pleasing and impressive. They 
naturally threw the mind back to the period when they who 
were thus solemnly dedicating themselves to God, to be 
constituted into a * golden candlestick' from which the divine 
light is to chase the surrounding gloom, were in the dark- 
ness of nature, without God, without revelation, and con- 
sequently without the hope it inspires. These reflections 
seemed to produce a reaction of the mind, and threw it on 
an 'immoveable foundation, the promise that 'Ethiopia shall 
soon stretch forth her hands unto God.' On this circum- 
stance, the mind seemed invited to repose, as an earnest of 
the full completion of the promise, and earnestly to ejaculate, 
* Lord, let thy kingdom come.' " 

* I must give you one more extract from the same paper. 
It is a communication from a correspondent of the Herald, 
in Monrovia, and relates to the dedication of a Presbyterian 
church : " Mr. Editor, as every circumstance which has any 
relation to the spreading of our blessed religion in Africa, 
must have a tendency to give satisfaction to every lover and 
follower of the religion of Jesus Christ, you will confer a 
favor on one of your constant readers by giving publication 
to this. Having understood that the First Presbyterian 
Church was to be dedicated to the service of God on the 
26th November, I attended, and was happy to find the prin- 
cipal part of the inhabitants of this town present on so inte- 
resting an occasion. Every denomination of saints seemed 
to rejoice that another temple had been erected and dedicated 
to the worship of Almighty God. It was enough that the 
pure religion of Jesus Christ was to be inculcated from that 
sacred pulpit, and, as that servant of God, the Rev. C. 
Teage, remarked, that where he then stood preaching the 
dedication sermon, sixteen years past, the devil's bush stood. 
What skeptic could doubt that colonization and missionary 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 243 



Religious privileges. 



enterprise had done much good ? The service commenced 
at 11 o'clock, A. M., by singing a hymn selected for the 
occasion, and reading the 8th chapter of the 2d book of 
Kings, by the Pastor, Rev. James Eden ; sermon by Rev. 
C. Teage ; concluding prayer by Rev. A. D. Williams, of 
the M. E. Church. How truly animating it is to see tem- 
ples arise for the worship of God, where not long since 
there was nothing to be heard but the savage yell of the 
native, or the clinking of the poor slaves' chains. On Sun- 
day the 27th December, Mr. H. B. Matthews was ordained 
a ruling elder of the church, by Rev. Mr. Wilson of Cape 
Palmas." ' 

* I do not see. Pa, why the Colonization Society and the 
interests of the colony should be so virulently opposed as 
they are by many V 

* It is strange that it is opposed by so many from whom 
we might have expected better things ; and especially since 
something, it is admitted by all, must be done, and since 
no better scheme has yet been devised.' 

* Should not the mighty scheme of colonization be 
realized in all its parts and to its utmost extent,' said Caro- 
line, * blessings will nevertheless be attained, it seems to 
me, which will abundantly repay every effort and sacrifice 
made.' 

* Great good has already been done, and far more than 
proportionate to the efforts made. The germ of an Ameri- 
cano-African empire has been planted ; and even if coloni- 
zation should for ever cease, that colony will extend and 
extend, I doubt not, until its influence shall overshadow the 
continent. The plan will succeed. Heaven's blessing will 
attend it. Glorious things are in store for Africa. That con- 
tinent has a rich blessing in the Liberia colony.' 



244 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Young Men's Colonization Society of Pennsylvania. 

* It appears to me, Pa, that the object is one of the most 
noble philanthropy ; we have read of the philanthropic spirit 
of a Howard, and have admired : but here is a philanthropy 
that seeks to disenthral and elevate two millions of outcasts 
who are now among ourselves, and to establish the liberties 
and secure the best good of a continent.' 

' And that continent, Caroline, is estimated as containing 
ffty millions of immortal souls I some say, two hundred 
millions /' 

* Truly a noble cause T 

* A noble cause, indeed ; and we may all, if we will, enjoy 
the honor of engaging in its interests, and of helping forward 
this blessed enterprise. In our next conversation I shall call 
your attention to some further progress in the great and good 
work, as exhibited in the more recent establishment of the 
sub-colony at Bassa Cove.' 



CONVERSATION XXV. 



" Non enira est uila res in qua proprius ad Deorum nuraen virtus accedat 
humana, quara civitates aut condere novas, aut conservare jam conditas." 

Cicero. 

' In our last conversation, I promised you some account of 
another enterprise in connexion with the colony at Liberia, 
by which the colonization cause has been greatly advanced. 
This enterprise is the result of the efforts of the Young 
Men's Colonization Society of Pennsylvania. Of the origin 
of this Society and its success, I must give you a brief 
history. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 245 



First expedition. — Tnteresting coincidences. 



* This Society, organized May, 1834, acting as auxiliary 
to the American Colonization Society, was formed with the 
design of pursuing strictly a system of political economy 
which shall foster with special care the agricultural interests 
of the colony by them established, checking the influence of 
petty and itinerant traffickers which has been found detri- 
mental in the other colonies, excluding from the colony the 
use of ardent spirits, and withholding the common tempta- 
tions and means for any aggressions upon the native popula- 
tion of Africa. The great principles upon which the So- 
ciety professes to act, are thus expressed by their philan- 
thropic and distinguished Secretary of foreign correspon- 
dence, E. Cresson, to whose warmhearted and untiring ef- 
forts in this cause, much is to be attributed : '* 1. Entire 
temperance in every colonist : 2. Total abstinence from trade 
in ardent spirits and arts of war : 3. An immediate Chris- 
tian influence and operation upon surrounding heathen : All 
designed to accomplish the second article of (its^i^onstitu- 
tion, ' to provide for civilizing and christianizing Africa, 
through the direct instrumentality of colored emigrants from 
the United States.' " This Society commenced under very 
favorable auspices, and their first expedition sailed from Nor- 
folk, Va., October 24th of the same year; the very day of 
the one hundred and fifty-second anniversary of the arrival 
of Penn, with the first English settlers, on the shores of the 
Delaware.' 

' This,' said Caroline, *was a very happy coincidence.' 

' It was,' Mr. L. continued, ' and there is yet another — the 
good ship Ninus, in which this expedition embarked, sailed 
from Philadelphia to receive the emigrants at Norfolk, the 
14th of October, which was on Wilham Penn's one hundred 
and ninetieth birth day. All this was apparently entirely ac- 
u2 



246 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Great success and encouragement. 



cidental, and was regarded not only as somewhat remarkable 
but as a favorable omen. 

' The outfit of the Ninus cost about eight thousand dol- 
lars, and the number of emigrants was one hundred and 
twenty-six. Every adult previous to the sailing of the ship, 
was a subscriber to the temperance pledge of entire absti- 
nence from the use of ardent spirits. They all arrived safe 
at Liberia on the 9th December following, and immediately 
proceeded to Bassa Cove, their contemplated territory, the 
purchase of which from the natives had been consummated 
a few days previous to their arrival. Such was the zeal and 
energy of these colonists, that by the first day of January 
next succeeding, a plot of ground had been cleared and a 
house erected for the agency family, and within six months 
the whole colony were comfortably located, eighteen houses 
having been erected by them for their own accommodation ; 
*' the lots around them presenting a bright prospect of luxu- 
riant crops of various kinds ;" and ten additional houses to 
receive the emigrants expected by a second expedition. Be- 
sides these, the agent had caused to be "prepared a large and 
substantial Government-house, 20 feet by 50, and two stories 
high, with a well stocked garden of two acres, substantially 
enclosed, and had cleared upwards of forty acres of land ; 
he had also a smith-shop, with a pit of coal, nearly ready 
for operation ; a kiln of lime burned, and six head of cattle 
procured and partially broken to the yoke." And " what 
rendered this picture more peculiarly pleasing, is the fact 
that this was achieved on the very spot where a slave facto- 
ry had long stood, and from whence no less than 500 vic- 
tims had been shipped during the one month preceding 
(the) purchased An extensive and kindly intercourse was 
opened with the surrounding tribes ; and promises obtained 
even from the more distant, of the extirpation of the traffic 
m human flesh and blood. The location " was admirably 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 247 



No apprehension for the future. 



adapted, just beyond the territorial limits of the American 
Colonization Society, and commanding at the same time, 
the mouth of the St. John's River, and the only harbor 
occurring for many miles round, to repress that nefarious 
traffic along a considerable portion of coast." 

* This colony, so favorably commenced, was, hovi^ever, 
destined to meet with a sudden and very grievous discourage- 
ment and suspension. A slaver arriving in the vicinity, ope- 
rated upon the cupidity of one of the chieftains in the neigh- 
borhood, and by the guilty use of ardent spirits, urged him 
to an attack upon the unsuspecting colony. Three men, 
four women, and thirteen children, were massacred in one 
night, and the remainder were obliged to take refuge at Mon- 
rovia.' 

' Might not this dreadful catastrophe have been avoided, 
if the colony had been prepared with fire-arms and other 
instruments of defence?' 

* It probably might. It is now confidently believed by 
those who have knowledge of the character of the surround- 
ing tribes, that the very fact of the colonists being possessed 
of the means of defence, will operate, in accordance with 
the spirit and language of the constitution of the Society, as 
*' a dissuasion from warfare," and induce them to reject any 
future overtures of the slavers. It is not to be expected 
that the slavers will regard any attempts to plant colonies on 
the coast, with other feeling than hostility ; for the slave- 
trade cannot long survive amid the salutary influences of 
civilized and Christian colonies on the surrounding pagan 
darkness. The chief, however, who was engaged in the at- 
tack upon the colony, has expressed contrition for his con- 
duct, and given solemn assurances of a desire for peace ; 
and there is reason to believe that the colony, which is now 
amply furnished with the means of defence, but instructed to 



248 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Prosperity of the colony. 



carry out the original design of the enterprise by prosecut- 
ing the humane and benevolent purposes originally contem- 
plated, " in a spirit of affectionate regard for the best inter- 
est of the natives," using " every effort for the preservation 
of the most friendly relations with them," will not be again 
molested ; or, if they should be, it is believed that they have 
nothing to fear. The slavers must retire before the light of 
civilization, and the influence of agriculture and commerce. 
* Several expeditions for this colony have been despatched 
since that which we have noticed, by the joint benevolence 
of the New-York Colonization Society and the Pennsylva- 
nia Society ; the energies of both institutions, by an arrange- 
ment to that effect, having been devoted to the colony at Bas- 
sa Cove. Among the emigrants are a goodly number of 
superior education and intelligence, as well as some who 
are possessed of considerable property. Clergymen are as- 
sociated with the colony as missionaries from the Episcopal, 
Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches, and great 
efforts are made to extend among the natives the united 
blessings of literary and religious instruction. The princi- 
ple of " entire abstinence" from ardent spirits, I have men- 
tioned was adopted by the Pennsylvania Society at its for- 
mation. All the reinforcements to the colony, it is said, 
" sailed without a drop of ardent spirits," and the " colonists 
pledged to total abstinence have not in any instance been 
known to violate" the pledge. It may be proper also to re- 
mark that the influence of this temperance movement has 
been happy upon the old colony. Hundreds have signed the 
pledge, and so temperate is the colony that Captain Abies, 
on a recent visit, ascertained that " no spirit was sold at any 
house of entertainment at Monrovia." The colony atBassa 
Cove appears, at the present time, to be prospering greatly." 

' I notice,' said Henry, * that a collegiate institution in 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 249 



College in Liberia. 



Africa, is proposed, and about to be established by The 
American Society (of New-York) for the Promotion of 
Education in Africa.' 

* Yes,' said Mr. L. ; * this Society is the same to which 
reference has before been made under the name of " the 
Young Men's Colonization Society of New York," the 
name of the Society having been changed. The reasons 
which have been assigned for this change are, that the former 
name "did not fully express the principal object in view by 
its founders," and that it " tended to identify (the Society) 
with one of the two great parties who have made the color- 
ed race the object of their sympathies and charitable exer- 
tions, but who differ widely from each other as to the man- 
ner in which their exertions should be directed." 

< This Society professes an intention to be separate from 
each, and yet, by a plan of benevolent operation accomplish 
objects which cannot but be gratifying to all sincere friends 
of the colored race. Its design is to educate the colored 
man in Africa, whether he come there through the immedi- 
ate efforts of the abolitionists, or the gradual influence of co- 
lonization, or is found there a native of the soil ; to prepare 
him for that freedom which he can there, and there only, 
enjoy without alloy, but which, without mental and moral 
culture, would prove far worse than slavery itself. The So- 
ciety hopes to "have a bearing on the interests of the color- 
ed race in our own country by the reflux influence of the 
moral elevation of Africa itself." The establishment of a 
College in Liberia has long been a favorite idea with many 
prominent friends of the African race. Believing that know- 
ledge is power ; and that self-preservation even, whether of 
the individual or a people, is not secure by physical force 
alone ; they have looked forward to the location of such an 
institution in Western Africa, as an object of great interest. 
As intelligence creates resources, opens channels of wealth, 



250 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



College in Liberia. 



extends commerce, improves the arts, establishes manufac- 
tures, gives permanence and honor to a community, and 
when founded in moral principle, raises the standard of hu- 
man character, securing domestic virtue and national pros- 
perity ; so it also throws a shield of protection around 
liberty, life, and property. The colored race cannot be effec- 
tually disenthralled from their present degradation, except 
as they enjoy the blessings of a good education. Great pains 
have been taken for the establishment of primary or com- 
mon schools in the colonies, and for extending the benefits 
of elementary instruction to all classes of the children. The 
American Society for the promotion of Education in Africa, 
proposes to extend these principles still further, having spe- 
cial reference in its operations to the benighted tribes scat- 
tered over the continent.* A college is needed to give 
efficacy to all these institutions, and to follow up to its full 
blessing the good work nobly begun, t 



* From a circular issued by this Society it appears that the object is 
" to extend the blessings of Christian Education to the benighted millions 
of Africa ;" but it supposes that " education for a people ignorant and de- 
graded like those it would benefit must for some time be confined to its 
elementary stages. It is therefore proposed to commence with several 
branches of useful knowledge that are most needed, and to establish a de- 
partment. 1, For Agriculture. 2, For Mechanics. 3, For Grammar, Geo- 
graphy, and Arithmetic. 4, For Commerce and Navigation; and over these 
departments to place practical and well qualified professors. Associated 
with this part of the scheme, will be common and Sunday schools. As the 
enterprise advances, and the condition of the people justifies it, the higher 
branches of education will be introduced. It will be an object of early 
solicitude and constant care to qualify teachers of common schools from 
among the native population of Africa." 

tit is a fact for which credit should be given, that beside a desire mani- 
fested from the beginning by the American Colonization Society, to encou- 
rage education in the colonies, ladies of Philadelphia formed a " Liberia 
School Association," in 18.32, which contributed largely by pecuniary aid 
and good influence to the great object ; and, in 1834, an association was form- 
ed, denominated " The Female Society of the city of New- York, for the 
support of schools in Africa," the object of which is " to prepare and sup- 
port Christian teachers in Africa." The first is still prosecuting its good 
work as auxiliary to the Colonization Society; the last named is stdl operat- 
ing efficiently in conjunction with the recently formed American Society for 
the Promotion of Education in Africa, through the agency of the Rev. Bknj. 
M. Palmer, D. D. a gentleman well known for his sound judgment, piety 
and talents, and late Pastor of one of the churches in Charleston, S. C. 



Plea for africa. 251 



College in Liberia. 



* A philanthropic and judicious writer in the New- York 
Observer has these very sensible remarks in respect to the 
location of such an institution in Liberia : — " Great changes 
are in progress. It requires no prophetic vision to perceive 
that the destinies of the African race are opening and bright- 
ening. The elevation of many individuals is not to be pre- 
vented by slander or unkind treatment. There are among 
them some of nature's noblemen in intellectual power, no 
less than in physical structure. Their redemption from ig- 
norance and abjectness at home, and the melioration of their 
state in foreign exile, hasten on with rapid stride. The ge- 
nius of the age, and the intimations of the divine will, point 
to such results. Selfish interests and personal prejudices 
die with men, while time rolls on its tide without our aid or 
consent. Some of these changes will be accelerated, not re- 
tarded, by the rod of oppression. New-England was filled 
with emigrants by ecclesiastical tyranny. Men of cultivated 
intellect and various talent will be wanted among the people 
of color, as soon as they can be educated. They are to oc- 
cupy responsible stations, and to do a momentous work. 
They are to prosecute researches into the geography and 
commercial resources of Africa, to establish a republic on its 
western coast, and to publish the gospel of the Saviour to 
its superstitious tribes. It is contrary to all analogy to sup- 
pose otherwise. White men may make establishments, 
commercial and religious, on the capes and islands of that 
continent, but it is for men of color to pass up its rivers, to 
cultivate its vallies, and introduce the arts and institutions of 
a Christian land through its wide extent of surface. It is 
for men of color to found schools and churches, pursue its 
agriculture and commerce, and conduct the whole machinery, 
on which depends the wealth, prosperity, and elevated cha- 
racter of this infant republic. 

* " There is a strong sympathy with the African race. It 



252 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Such an institution needed. 



can hardly be restrained by sober judgment and a regard to 
the principles of common justice. It seeks to find out chan- 
nels in which its exuberant compassion may flow forth. 
That race, in the mystery of Providence, has been subjected 
to much suffering. To say that many have endured a long 
bondage, a period of exile from the land of their fathers, like 
the slavery of Jacob's family in Egypt, or the captivity of 
Judah in Assyria, is only a declaration of historical facts. 
And this injury has been inflicted by the most intelligent 
and Christian nations on the globe. That a rich return is to 
be made to their descendants in the arts of civilized life, and 
in the inestimable blessings of the Christian rehgion, cannot 
well admit a doubt. * * If we stop with the rudiments 
of knowledge, we only begin the work. The paths of 
science are not trod, the powers of the intellect are not de- 
veloped, the dignity of our nature is not fully displayed. No 
historian records a nation's annals, and no poet writes its 
songs ; no astronomer marks the phenomena of the heavens, 
and no geologist digs into the treasures of the earth. With- 
out a college, there are no profound scholars, no elegant 
writers, no large libraries, no inquiries into the antiquities of 
past ages, or into the aspects of future times. Soon will the 
common school lower its standard, if there is no higher in- 
stitution. Soon will the general intelligence of a people de- 
cline, if there are no learned men, with whom they are con- 
versant and to whom they may look as examples. Soon 
will the authority of the Bible be veiled in doubts, if there 
are none who are competent to read its ancient languages, 
demonstrate its divine origin, and answer the cavils of infi- 
dels. There is no security against a retrograde movement 
in any human society but in a constant efl'ort to advance. 

* " Who are to navigate their ships ? Who are to teach 
their children ? Who are to be the pastors of their churches ? 
Who are to be their legislators, governors, judges ? Who 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 253 



College in Liberia necessary. 



are to lay the sure foundations of an intelligent, virtuous, and 
happy republic ? Who are to extend a civilizing influence 
over hundreds of petty tribes along a coast of three thousand 
miles and into regions of the interior, as yet untraversed by 
Europeans ? It sickens the heart to hear it suggested that 
the ignorant and vicious are to be entrusted with these stu- 
pendous interests, which involve the dearest hopes of many 
generations, and on which depends the successful prosecu- 
tion of one of the noblest enterprises which has ever blest 
humanity in this or any other age. It sickens the heart to 
think that its government may degenerate into anarchy, and 
its religion into fanaticism, — that its energies may be ex- 
hausted in selfish and mercenary speculations, until the 
slave-trade shall be renewed where it is now extinct, and the 
arts of war supplant the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and 
the manufactures. It sickens the heart to think that many 
lives may have been sacrificed and much treasure expended 
to little purpose, that tears have been shed and prayers offer- 
ed in vain. The failure of Liberia, as the germ of a free and 
prosperous republic, is not to be contemplated as possible. 
But there are various means to be employed to render the 
enterprise more sure. Among others, a liberal system of 
education is one, which requires a college as an indispensa- 
ble appendage." 

* Amongst the reasons which this writer assigns for the lo- 
cation of such an institution in Liberia, are these : — " It will 
be in the land of the African race. That land is a continent 
wide in territory, rich in resources, and open to the entrance 
of her own children. If three or four millions of that race 
are dispersed in foreign lands, twenty or thirty millions are 
to be found on their native soil.* Some thousands of free- 
men, who are advancing to wealth and high distinction, have 

* Some suppose 200,000,000. 
X 



254 PLEA FOR AFRICA, 



Without knowledge, a colony will degenerate. 



made it their home. The native population is easily acces- 
sible.* It places the pupils beyond the reach of that oppres- 
sive power which they feel in this country, and they are left 
to the influence of all the high and inspiring motives of am- 
bition, honor, and usefulness. In these Slates, in the vici- 
nity of their enslaved brethren, they are dispirite*ll. They 
do not find themselves stimulated by the prospect of emolu- 
ment, or office, or equal rank. Why should they study ? 

* In reference to the opportunities and desire for instruction among the 
natives, which is indeed truly remarkable, Mr. Pinney, who went from 
Georgia, as a missionary, under the Western Buard of Foreign missions, re- 
ports, " Many of the children of the natives have seen what they call ' Ame- 
rica man fash,' (lashion,) and through their report, and from their own ob- 
servation, the natives in the vicinity of our settlements are inibrmed as to 
the superiority of our knowledge, and desire to partake of the benefit. 'I'his 
desire exists, I will venture to say, at this hour in more than 100,000 of the 
natives in the neighborhood of our colonies. Most of the young men, sons 
of chiefs or headmen, act as servants, to bring wood and water, and go on 
errands, and perform all sorts of servile offices, for the sake of obtaining a 
smattering of the English tongue. It is the leading youth of the country, 
such as in their own tribe are considered as gentlemen and princes, who are 
in a particular manner anxious to learn our language, and adopt our customs. 
Who does not see, in this important fact, the germ of Africa's future improve- 
ment ?" 

In respect to another portion of the same continent, the Rev. J. L. Wilson, 
a missionary from South Carolina, in the employ of the American Board, 
says, in conjunction with his companion, Mr. Wynkoop, " along the whole 
coast where we have been, we uniformly found the people desirous of 
schools, and from what we have seen ourselves and heard from others, we 
are induced to believe there is not a town on the coast where a Christian 
teacher would not be heartily welcomed. We would confidently say, that 
there is a universal desire, nay, an imperious demand for Christian schools. 
Wherever it was made known to the inhabitants of the towns on the south- 
ern coast, that we were going to Cape Palmas for the purpose of teaching 
the natives, we received applications to send American teachers to their 
towns. Not unfrequently they asked a written promise to this effect." At 
Rocktown they gave the king and his head men a written promise that a 
teacher should be sent them if possible. Yet, they say, " after we were dis- 
tant 290 miles on our way home, we received a message from them, remind- 
ing us of our promise. This desire for schools has doubtless grown out of an 
acquaintance with civilized nations. From the example of a few natives 
whom we have seen pursuing their educations and the earnestness and fa- 
cility with which they learn — we cannot think that any judicious efforts to 
meet their desires in this respect will be fruitless." 

The Rev. Dr. Philip, of South Africa, furnishes testimony to the same 
effect representing that portion of the continent, and, what is amusing, re- 
lates that "one chief among the CafJre tribes of South Africa, proposed to 
purchase a missionary — and was willing to give one thousand head of cattle 
for a teacher to come and live with him and instruct his people." 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 255 



A College in Liberia promises rich blessings. 



Why aspire to learn ? What is the reward of diligence ? 
Besides they do not often enjoy the facilities of instruction 
and books, which fall to the lot of other children, especially 
in early years. It is not chiefly any want of industry or 
native talent, which leaves them behind others of their age. 
This disparity can be satisfactorily traced to causes which 
cannot be removed till they are taken out of this state of so- 
ciety and allowed to inhale a free atmosphere. See the Afri- 
can youth on his native soil, erect, gay, and buoyant ; here 
he is depressed and downcast. There are some schools for 
children of color in this country, and many individuals of 
both sexes have made commendable improvement. They 
have evinced sufficient capacity. But as a diffident child 
cannot look up in the presence of strangers, so they are op- 
pressed with an incumbent load which no impulse of genius 
can enable them to shake off. A fair experiment in their 
education cannot be made in this country. The constitution 
of society forbids it. In their own land no distinction of 
color will remind them of their exile, no frown of a master 
will check the rising emotion of joy, no exclusion from pub- 
lic office, and no inferiority of rank will chill the energy of 
the soul. Fame, and wealth, and official honor will invite 
them to aspire to excellence, and reward their patient indus- 
try. Why should they not become learned in abstract and 
useful science ? AVhy should they not cultivate the fine 
arts, painting and sculpture, music and poetry ? Some of 
the colonists grow rich with great rapidity ; why should 
they not accumulate funds of knowledge ? Give them the 
opportunity and the inspiring motive, and there is no un- 
certainty respecting the result. If a literary establishment 
should be made in the colony of Liberia, there is no ap- 
parent reason why it should not be perpetuated through the 
successive periods of its future history with enlarged re- 
sources and increasing usefulness. Pupils need not be want- 



256 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The College will be sustained. 



ing. The intelligent sons of native chiefs, the sons of co- 
lonists, young men of enterprise and talent in the West India 
Islands and the United States, may here find an asylum 
where they may prosecute their education without prejudice. 
This will stimulate the ambition of the native tribes, reward 
the fidelity of colonists who have borne the burden of the 
work, and elicit the talent of the race wherever it may be 
found. Especially may such a seminary prove to be a 
' school of the prophets,' where the Saviour of the world 
may prepare his servants to publish his gospel of mercy to 
the millions on that continent. Besides that continent is to 
be their future theatre of action. And it is an ample field. 
It is not a little island environed by the sea. It is not a 
section of country where they will be exposed to encroach- 
ments from men of a different color and superior power. It 
is not in subjection to a despotic government with which 
they can feel no sympathy, and in the administration of 
which they can aspire to no share. Nor is its language, 
like that of Hayti, intelligible to a handful only of all the 
race. Nor is its rehgion mystical and established by law, 
denying to individuals entire liberty of conscience in the 
worship of God. Whatever islands or sections of country 
may in the course of time fall into the possession of the 
people of color, the continent of Africa itself is the cradle 
and the home of the race. The results of their enterprise 
and talent are to be exhibited there. In despite of all that 
philanthropy can accomplish, neither the United States nor 
the British Islands will furnish an inviting field to men of 
color for half a century to come. As they advance to wealth 
and knowledge, they will resort to the father-land, whether 
for culture or commerce. They will seek it as an asylum, 
a home. There will be no need of external compulsion or 
constraint. Nor will they wait for pecuniary aid. It will 
not be easy to retain them to hew wood and draw water ia 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 257 



Bassa Cove a delightful country. 



Other lands. They will there be the proprietors of the soil 
which they cultivate, establish a government which they 
themselves administer, and introduce the refigion of their en- 
lightened choice. And shall the want of a few thousand 
dollars prevent the immediate commencement of a work so 
imperiously demanded by the wants of a whole race ? Will 
not the statesman, the philanthropist, the rich merchant, 
give to this enterprise a candid investigation and a liberal 
patronage ? And especially may it not be commended with 
confidence to Him who controls the destinies of nations, and 
who is pleased with the good conduct and highest happiness 
of men?'" 

* Such an institution,' said Caroline, ' would reflect great 
honor upon its founders, and I am sure would greatly en- 
courage the hope of Africa's final triumphs. I have seen 
very encouraging accounts from time to time of Bassa Cove. 
It seems to be greatly favored.' 

'Yes; Mr. Buchanan, late governor of the colony, in a 
letter to the corresponding secretary of the Pennsylvania So- 
ciety, has said, " You may congratulate yourself on your 
steadfast afl'ection for Bassa Cove, for indeed it is a paradise. 
The climate is absolutely good— the soil prolific and various 
in its productions — the rivers abound in excellent fish and 
very superior oysters, and the water is pure and wholesome. 
Our position is somewhat remarkable, having a river in our 
rear, the ocean in front, and the magnificent St. John's 
sweeping past on our right. The luxuriant and various 
foliage which overhangs the banks of the river, and recedes 
back into the interminable forests, gives a perpetual fresh- 
ness to the scene which ever animates and gladdens the be- 
holder. In America it is difficult to conceive of African 
scenery without picturing to our imagination a plentiful sup- 
ply of burning sand, with here and there a fiery serpent ; but 

x2 



258 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The colonists contented and prosperous. 



what a pleasing reversion the feelings undergo when for the 
first time we witness the reality ; then the arid scene, with 
its odious accompaniments, is exchanged for the broad river 
of blue waters, the stately forest, and the ever verdant land- 
scape, and all nature charms with her ever-varying, yet ever- 
beautiful and living riches. 

' " AVe have very little sickness among us. When our 
land is cleared up and cultivated, I have no doubt that people 
may come here from any part of the Union and suffer little 
or nothing in the process of acclimating. The site chosen 
by Dr. Skinner, and upon which the town is now laid out, 
is one of the most beautiful and picturesque that could be 
found in any country. A commanding and remarkable 
eminence at the north end of the town I cut off and appro- 
priated for the agency house and officers. This eminence 
is washed on three sides by the ocean and two rivers, and 
commands an unlimited prospect seaward, overlooking com- 
pletely all parts of Bassa Cove, Edina, and an extensive tract 
of the St. John's and Benson rivers, and may, with a very 
little labor, be rendered impregnable against any native force. 
I am at present mounting a long nine-pounder on a pivot, on 
one corner of the hill, which will range our principal street, 
the harbor and river. 

* " Our settlement has grown very rapidly, and quite asto- 
nishes every visitor by its appearance of age, and the indus- 
try of its inhabitants. No description that I could give 
would convey an adequate idea of the change in their de- 
portment, and it would savor too much, perhaps, of self- 
praise, to dwell on this subject; suffice it to say, that gene- 
ral industry, contentment, and good order prevail. Every 
man is now in his own house, with a lot cleared, well fenced, 
and planted. Many have small rice plantations, besides their 
village lots, and, by the blessing of Providence, they will be 
nearly all independent of foreign produce another year. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 259 



The colony must succeed. 



' " The people are unanimous in their expressions of grati- 
tude to the societies for their continued patronage, and ap- 
pear to be well satisfied with the laws and their administrs- 
tion. All have sworn to support the constitution, after hav- 
ing it read at three different times, and carefully explained. 
With proper care at home, and judicious management here, 

the experiment must succeed. Your location is good 

perhaps the very best on the whole western coast of Africa. 
A magnificent interior country can be added to your territory, 
as occasion may require, while the whole line of sea coast 
down to Cape Palmas, can ultimately be occupied by your 
villages and cities. A climate of great comparative salubrity, 
and a soil rich in the various productions of the tropics, are 
among the advantages you calculate upon with ever-increas- 
ing certainty. Industrious men alone are wanting to render 
your labors triumphant in converting this African wilderness 
into a paradise of loveliness ; and creating here a home of 
peace and serenity, where thousands may come and rest 
from all their wrongs." 

' It is a very pleasing circumstance,' added Mr. L., ' that 
young men come " to the rescue," and associate together, 
as in these instances in our two great cities, to help carry 
forward so great and blessed an enterprise. When the 
Young Men's Society of Pennsylvania was formed, the pe- 
cuniary concerns of the Parent Society, through a variety of 
causes, had begun to assume a very discouraging aspect. 
But the formation of this Society, together with renewed 
and vigorous efforts on the part of its friends elsewhere, soon 
revived the hopes of the friends of Africa. Subsequent suc- 
cess has banished many doubts in regard to the final and 
complete success of the enterprise. 

' We have now reason to hope that the time is very near 
when many colonies shall be planted on the shores of Africa. 
Maryland, I have before intimated, has already moved iii 



260 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonies should line the coast. 



this good work. Mississippi has also opened a door for her- 
self, having purchased a suitable territory for that purpose. 
The settlement is already nnade, and the Colonization So- 
ciety of the State appropriates to the colony $20,000 per 
annum. Virginia, it seems, will not be backward in the 
work. Louisiana has resolved to establish a colony, and has 
made its selection and purchase of territory. And, what is 
there to hinder all the States from coming up to this woik, 
and planting a chain of ten, or twenty or more States in Af- 
rica, which shall form a republic in close aflSnity with our 
own, extending far and wide the blessings of peace, liberty, 
light, and joy ? 

" Light of the world, arise ! arise ! 

On Africa thy glory shed ; 
P'elter'd, in darkness deep she lie?. 

With weeping eye, and drooping head 

Light of the world, arise 1 arise ! 

Millions in tears await the day : 
Shine cloudless forth, O cheer our eyes, 

And banish sin and grief away." ' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 261 



Right of search. 



CONVERSATION XXVI. 



" Lo ! once in triumph on his boundless plain, 

The quiver'd chief of Congo lov'd to reign ; 

With fires proportion'd to his native sky, 

Strength in his arm, and lightning in his eye ! 

Scour'd with wild feet his sun-illumin'd zone, 

The spear, the lion, and the woods his own ! 

Or led the combat, bold without a plan, 

An artless savage, but a fearless man ! 

The plunderer came :— Alas, no glory smiles 

For Congo's chief on yonder Indian isles, 

For ever fallen I no son of nature now, 

With freedom charter'd on his brow : 

Faint, bleeding, bound, he weeps the night away, 

And, when the sea-wind wafls the dewless day, 

Starts, with a bursting heart, for ever more 

To curse the sun that lights the guilty shore." — Campbell. 

* There is one subject,' said Mr. L., ' that I meant to 
have noticed before, and that is the importance of some 
better understanding between our own government and 
others, in respect to the right of search. By treaties be- 
tween some of the powers, the mutual right of search is con- 
ceded to the government vessels of each nation, of such mer- 
chant vessels of the other as may be reasonably suspected of 
being engaged in the slave-trade, Or which have been fitted 
out with that intent, or that, during the voyage in which they 
are met with by said cruisers, have been employed in the 
slave-trade ; and the said cruisers are authorized to detain 
them, and send or conduct them to one of the places appoint- 
ed by the convention of treaty for trial ; this mutual right of 
search not to be exercised in any part of the Mediterranean 
sea, nor in the seas of Europe which lie north of latitude 37, 



262 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Convention of foreign powers. 



and east of longitude 20 W. from Greenwich. To prevent 
difficulties and injuries which might otherwise arise, it has 
been provided, that when vessels of either nation shall be 
arbitrarily and illegally detained by the cruisers of the other, 
the government whose cruisers have caused the detention, 
shall indemnify the owners, die. of the vessels for all dam- 
age resulting therefrom, which is to be determined agreeably 
to provisions made for that purpose. Such a treaty between 
the United States and other friendly powers, would greatly 
facilitate the absolute abolition of the slave-trade. I say ab- 
solute abolition of it, for it is a painful and notorious fact, 
that notwithstanding all the precautions that are now used, 
vessels are fitted out from some of our own ports by unprin- 
cipled men, whose vile purpose is obvious, but who escape 
•with impunity, because the proper officers cannot arrest ves- 
sels without proof of their having violated the law, by the 
commission of overt acts. A law giving to our local autho- 
rities and naval officers, powers over American vessels, 
touching this matter, similar to those which Great Britain 
exercises over her commerce ; and especially, if practicable, 
an understanding with foreign powers which shall concede a 
limited and mutual power similar to that to which I have al- 
ready adverted ; and the presence of a few American cruisers 
on the African coast, to co-operate with those of other nations 
authorized to destroy the slave-factories and barracoons wher- 
ever they may be found on the coast, would greatly hasten 
the final and total extinction of the trade.' 

*I3ut Tam surprised, Pa,' said Caroline, * to hear that 
there are any yet remaining in our own country who would 
clandestinely engage in the African slave-trade, and that it 
is possible for vessels to sail from our shores to be so em- 
ployed.' 

* It is lamentably true, as it is surprising. By recent in- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 263 



The extinction of the slave trade. 



formation from Africa, it appears that American built vessels 
are regularly engaged in this accursed trade. The way of 
procuring them is said to be as follows : — " Mercantile 
houses in the Havana, and other ports in Cuba and Porto 
Rico, send orders for fast sailing vessels to their correspon- 
dents here, of course saying nothing about their being de- 
signed for slavers. When launched, they are frequently 
equipped at Baltimore and New-York. Even the shackles 
for securing the slaves, and the gratings to cover the hatches, 
not unfrequently go from this country ; though a part of the 
latter are sometimes prepared on board. The shackles are 
put up in barrels, and shipped as merchandise. The crews 
are principally Spanish and Portuguese, French and Dutch 
Creoles, and a sort of Lingua Franca-men, of no nation, or 
rather of all nations, belonging nowhere, or everywhere, and 
speaking all the Atlantic languages. Some of them picked 
up in New- York or Baltimore for the voyage, and others 
after she arrives in the Havana. These are all desperadoes. 
Some of the crew, I am sorry to say, are said to be, in some 
instances, Americans, who sometimes do not know the na- 
ture of the voyage until they arrive ok the coast of Africa. 
The slaver sails from our port as an American vessel under 
the American flag, with American papers, and appears like 
a regular trader. She goes to the Havana, is denationalized, 
receives a new name, and takes Spanish colors and Spanish 
papers. Sometimes, but rarely, this is done at the Cape de 
Verd Islands. These vessels frequently put into Sierra 
Leone, and occasionally into Monrovia ; and, as all appears 
fair and smooth, and strictly en regie, it is impossible to 
prove that they are slavers." ' 

' Where, Sir, are the slaves which they obtain carried V 
* Some have been carried to Brazil ; some to the Spanish 
Islands, from whence they have been smuggled in considera- 



264 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Recent facts ascertained. 



ble numbers into Guadaloupe and Martinique, and it is even 
said that some have found their way into Florida, and vari- 
ous places on the Gulf. In this morning's paper I notice 
an article extracted from a late Lisbon paper, which is as fol- 
lows : — " A slave-trader has lately arrived in the Tagus, 
consigned to Mr. S., a German. She returns after having 
sold her slaves at Rio Janeiro and the Havana, with a nett 
profit of 95,000 crowns, or 10,000/. after deducting every 
outlay, and she will soon start again on another expedition 
of this kind. There are three French residents here con- 
nected with Mr. S. in the nefarious and infamous expedition, 
and unless our government adopt some other course, the 
traffic from hence will increase." ' 

' Are those places from whence slaves are now obtained 
remote from the colonies of Liberia and Sierra Leone V 

' Yes ; the same gentlemen who, on their return from Af- 
rica, recently communicated the facts to which I have now 
referred, say that there are no slave-factories, from Cape 
Palmas eastward, for several degrees of longitude. But to 
show you the extent of the trade on different parts of the 
coast, probably at this moment, I will mention the establish- 
ments which through the colony at Liberia have been ascer- 
tained to exist beyond the reach of any colony's present in- 
fluence. This information you will find communicated in 
the Colonization Herald, for December 19, 1835. I give it 
as it was communicated : — " At Bissao, a Portuguese settle- 
ment near Gambia, it is carried on extensively, but not with 
the open countenance of the local government. The River 
Pongas, 120 miles north of Sierra Leone, is an extensive 
slave-market. The river is navigable for large vessels 60 
or 80 miles, and has several slave-factories on its banks. 
About 2000 slaves are carried away annually. Three of the 
gentlemen who communicated these facts, saw seven slavers 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 265 



Slave-trade not practicable where colonies are planted. 

in the river at a time. At the mouth of the Shelear river, 
a little south of Sherbro Island, a considerable number are 
sold annually. The mouth of the Oallinas is the great slave» 
mart north of Cape Palmas. At this place are two very 
large factories, with their appropriate suite of barracoons, or 
out-buildings to house the slaves, as they are sent in by the 
neighboring chiefs. These factories are about 120 feet in 
length, are handsomely fitted up, and elegantly furnished. 
They are occupied by two Spaniards, whose names we 
know, one of whom is very rich. They are said to have 
their regular agents in (two cities in these States !) No les:s 
than eight thousand slaves are annually shipped from this 
one place. Slavers are almost always lying there. They 
saw four slavers at the Gallinas in October last.' One of 
them was to sail on the 14th or 15lh, with 450 slaves on 
board. Two of our informants saw them dancing in two 
circles on the beach. At Sugry River and Cape Mount, 
about 80 miles north of Monrovia, a considerable number are 
sold every year. They saw two slavers lying there in Oc- 
tober. Cape Mesurado was formerly an extensive slave* 
market before the settlement of Monrovia. It is now wholly 
broken up. The same is true, in a degree, of the mouth of 
Junk River, One of the gentlemen has seen the remains 
of the old slave-factory, which stood near the mouth of St. 
John's River, before Edina and Bassa Cove were planted. 
In 1834, before the purchase of Bassa Cove, 500 were ship- 
ped from that place, in a single month. Since then, the 
slavers have left the river. Sestras River, is, as they sup- 
pose, the only remaining regular slave-market between Cape 
Palmas and Monrovia, and, in the numbers which it furnishes 
annually, is probably inferior only to the Gallinas. In ad- 
dition to this, the slavers lie at anchor for a few days, in 
numerous other places along the coast, where no factories 
have been ejected, to pick up the slaves in the immediate 



266 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Great extent of coast exposed. 



neighborhood, who have been just taken in war. The cap- 
tains of the slavers are generally men of polished manners, 
and gentlemanly appearance. One of them was, some time 
ago, particularly kind to the captain of the vessel in which 
one of our informants sailed ; sending him a case of claret, 
and utterly refusing all compensation. The slavers are all 
sharp- built vessels, intended expressly for fast sailers. 
They mount commonly one gun, sometimes as many as 
eighteen. The one gun is a long 32 pounder ; and, where 
there are more, some are always of this description. * At 
least 100 slavers are to be found annually between the river 
Pongas and the Bight of Benin, including both. The fol- 
lowing places in the Bight of Benin are extensive slave- 
markets, with regular factories : Badagry Point, Lagos River, 
Benin River, the River Nun, and more especially on Brass 
River, one of its bayous. The following are similar estab» 
lishments on the Bight of Biafra : Old Calebar River, the 
Camaroons, the River Gaboon, and Cape Lopez. The 
slavers in the Bight of Biafra are at present exceedingly nu- 
merous, and are spoken of as amounting to hundreds. '*' '* 

' I have seen it objected,' said Henry, ' to the colony of 
Liberia, that it has not suppressed the slave-trade: but both 
that and the colony at Sierra Leone, have certainly done 
something, if they have not yet accomplished every thing.' 

* Facts of more recent date, Dec. 1836, as published in ihe New York 
Commercial Advertiser, in a letter from Sierra Leone, show that " the slave- 
trade is carried on to a.greater extent than ever, and all under the Portuguese 
flag." The letler sajs, " there have been sent into this harbor, in the year 
1836, 54 slavers, 44 of which are actually condemned. The Columbine has 
captured the Veloz, a large brig, with 508 slaves ; she has arrived. The 
new Portuguese treaty will do little toward extirpating the slave-trade; the 
only effective mode would be to declare it piracy. 'J'he slavers now in the 
rivers, where they embark their cargoes, have landed their slave decks, 
fittings, and irons, and will only ship them again when the slaves are on the 
beach, and arrangements have been already made with American vessels to 
bring these fitments of a slave vessel from Havana or Rio de Janeiro." 

The Liberia Herald of January, 1837, says, " Intelligence, lately received 
from the captain of an English merchantman, gives sixty-three slave vessels 
lying at one time at Loango, waiting for cargoes I ! ? " 



PLEA POR AFRICA. 267 



Our national armed vessels should visit the coast. 

* It is unreasonable in the extreme,' said Mr. L., * for any 
thus to object. To break up the slave-trade on that whole 
extended coast will require time, and the planting of other 
Colonies, and the aid of Christian governments. It is certain- 
ly a matter of great gratulation that so much has been done.' 

' Are not our national vessels occasionally cruising upon 
the African coast ? I am sure, I think I have seen frequent 
accounts of them there,' said Henry. 

* They have occasionally visited the colonies : not often, 
and scarcely at all of late. We have not rendered that aid 
and protection which we ought to have done. Especially 
does that coast demand our regard in consideration of the fact 
that the regular legal trade with Africa is carried on chiefly 
by American vessels. These are left almost entirely to be 
protected by the English flag. It is to be hoped that our 
Government will soon take this subject in hand, and that 
there will be some efficient action by Congress in unison 
with other powers, for the suppression of the trade. Then 
not only will the native African 

" drink at noon 
The palm's rich nectar, and lie down at eve 
In the green pastures of remembered days. 
And walk, to wander and to weep no more, 
On Congo's mountain-coast, and Gambia's golden shore ;" 

but the prosperity of the colonies planted there will be 
greatly promoted, and rendered far more eflicient than they 
can otherwise be. Besides, the reproach will be taken away 
from us which I had the mortification of reading this morn- 
ing from a paragraph in one of the papers professedly de- 
voted to the cause of the colored race, in these words :— 
"True, America has proscribed the foreign trade, on parch' 
nijLent ; and that is all. For to this hour, she stands aloof, 
and will not come into such arrangements with foreign pow- 
ers, as are indispensable to an eflectual execution of the law. 



268 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonization is practicable. 



A British cruiser gives chase to a slaver — up go American 
colors I America denies the right of search in the case, and 
off goes the slaver untouched and unharmed. Thus does 
America nullify her own law, and, so far as she can, the 
laws of all other civilized powers, and unfurl her flag for 
the escape and protection, rather than the arrest and punish- 
ment of the slaver!" ' 



CONVERSATION XXVII. 



" As in ancient Rome, it was regarded as the mark of a good citizen, 
never to despair of the fortunes of the republic ; so the good citizen of the 
world, whatever may be the political aspect of his own times, will never 
despair of the fortunes of the human race : but will act upon the conviction, 
that prejudice, slavery, and corruption, must gradually give way to truth, 
liberty, and \\rlne. "—Dugald Stewart. 

' I HOPE, Pa,' said Caroline, ' that the scheme of the Co- 
lonization Society is, beyond any doubt, practicable V 

* Some have pronounced it otherwise,' said Mr. L., ' and 
so almost every great enterprise has had to encounter simi- 
lar objections. The first suggestions touching the feasibility 
of employing the agency of steam — the first proposition for 
supplying by artificial means the absence of natural facilities 
for inland navigation — and the object of our revolutionary 
struggle, were treated by many as impracticable. So were 
the plans of him 

" who first unfurl'd 
An Eastern banner o'er the Western world."* 



*The expeditions of Columbus, Cabot, Raleigh, Hudson, Winthrop, Ogle- 
thorpe, were all considered visionary. 



tLEA FOR AFRICA. 269 



Colonization is practicable. 



But the experiment in this case also is made ; the obstacles 
have been overcome ; and their remains, in my mind, not 
the slightest doubt of its entire practicability. 

' The views of those who at first asserted the impractica- 
bility of the enterprise, and augured its defeat, were certain- 
ly entitled to consideration ; nor am I even now disposed to 
join with such as say that those who, at this late day, assert 
the impracticability of the colonization enterprise, "deserve 
a straight jacket" — but it does appear to me that since a pros- 
perous colony has been established, and the most formidable 
difficulties have been encountered and overcome, ultimate 
success, on a scale of vast magnificence, may be confident- 
ly expected. It has been well remarked, by a sound phi- 
losopher, that " the greatest of all obstacles to the improve- 
ment of the world, is the prevailing belief of its improbabi- 
lity, which damps the exertions of so many individuals ; 
and that, in proportion as the contrary opinion becomes 
general, it realizes the event which it leads us to anticipate." 
Mr. Dugald Stewart further remarks that " if any thing can 
have a tendency to call forth in the public service the exer- 
tions of individuals, it must be an idea of the magnitude of 
that work in which they are conspiring, and a belief of the 
permanence of those benefits which they confer on man- 
kind, by every attempt to inform and enlighten them." This 
enterprise has sufTered much from unnecessary discourage- 
ment and opposition ; but it is a noble work, and in respect 
to the benefit which it promises, may well rank among the 
first of the benevolent and patriotic efforts of man.' 

' It certainly appears no more than just,' C. remarked, 
* that we seek in this way to do Africa good ; we have long 
enough done her wrong.' 

' True, my daughter ; and I cannot better express my 
sentiment on this part of our duty, than to use the language 
y2 



270 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonization the best way of redressing Africa's wrongs. 

of Mr. Frelinghuysen : — " We have committed a mighty 
trespass. Africa has a heavy claim against us. It is a long 
and bloody catalogue of outrage and oppression. The re- 
port of our national crime has gone up to heaven. It rose 
upon the groans and tears of her kidnapped children — the 
infernal horrors of the slave-ship have, in ten thousand in- 
stances, wrung from distracted bosoms the cry for vengeance; 
and there is a just God to hear and regard it. On the front 
of this blessed scheme of humanity is inscribed, in better 
than golden characters, ' Recompense to the injured.' " 

* There is another consideration of interest to every one 
who loves his country and the cause of God. We shall, by 
colonization, establish the liberties of Africa, under our own, 
the very best form of government, and cheer that whole land 
with the pure light of Christianity.' 

' Pa, I cannot think of an object which seems to afford a 
fairer field for the exercise of the finest feehngs of the true 
patriot and Christian.' 

* What is patriotism .^' said Henry : ' I have thought it 
would be difficult to define it, according to the generally un- 
derstood meaning of the term at the present time. Is it not 
a feeling that influences to the practice of benevolent acts of 
self-denial and noble deeds for one's country's good V 

' That, Henry, is the very best meaning of the term when 
properly used. True patriotism is not a mere selfish love 
of country, but an expansive feeling that regards the evils 
that threaten or afflict the community at large, and every 
portion of that community, and labors to avert or remove 
them. Show me thy patriotism without thy works, every 
true patriot may say, and I will show thee my patriotism by 
my works. Empty is the boast of a patriotism that nerves 
the grasp of sordid lust when our country calls. 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 271 



Colonization has claims on the patriot. 



" Can he be strenuous in his country's cause, 
Who slights ihe charities, for whose dear sake 
That country, if at all, must be belov'd ?" 

There is much such patriotism in our day ; and also too 
much of that which will sacrifice every benevolent, and 
Christian, and patriotic cause on the altar of sectarian illibe- 
rality, and the littleness of party interests. Ours should be 
a patriotism that is worthy of the descendants of revolution- 
ary heroes. The evils of slavery in this country, extend 
their influence to every part of the Union ; and the guilt of 
having encouraged, in times past, the introduction of slavery 
and the continuance of the slave-trade, rests upon every part 
of our country ; and all should be willing and desirous to do 
what may be done with propriety to avert these evils and to 
expiate this guilt. As respects Africa, the wrong which she 
has received from us, is, in an important sense, a national 
sin ; and as such, its expiation should be national. What 
our country, as such, however, is not yet prepared to do, 
true patriotism may attempt, according to its ability, to ac- 
complish. If we wait for national action on this subject, 
Africa in the meanwhile suffers, and our country must 
suffer. Without arrogating to ourselves any disputed right 
whatever, we may individually or in associated capacities, 
do much for Africa's relief — much for our country's relief; 
whilst, in so doing, we also confer a great blessing upon the 
colored people in our land, both bond and free. And what 
may thus be done without offence, surely ought to be done, 
and done at once. There is danger in delays for God is a 
God of justice. We may shut our eyes to the fact, and the 
mercenary hand of avarice may clench the fist which ought 
to be the open hand of benevolence and patriotism, but the 
evil will one day obtrude itself upon our notice. We were 
now the happiest people upon earth, but for this leprosy that 
is upon us. These 2,000,000 of bondmen who tread this 



272 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonization or ruin. 



soil of freedom, and those 500,000 of their brethren who are 
nominally free, but are connected with them in all their sym- 
pathies and in all their interests, with their constantly and 
rapidly increasing numbers, greatly eclipse our prospects 
and are portentous of calamity ! 

' It surely needs not a prophet's ken to foretell what will 
be the result of a continuance of the present state of things. 
A slight knowledge of human nature, aided by the history 
of the past, is sufficient for the purpose. Our black popu- 
lation was once a mole-hill, comparatively ; it is now a 
mountain — and what is worse, that mountain is, as we have 
seen, volcanic ! Short as yet have been its irruptions and 
few ; but they have laid waste valuable lives, and have caused 
many a family to mourn, sending also a thrill to the very ex- 
tremities of our land. These momentary emissions, are pro- 
bably but the prelude, if something more efficient be not done 
for our relief and that speedily, of a general and awful explo- 
sion. Southampton and St. Domingo furnish some idea of 
what may be, unless the Christian and patriotic of this re- 
public, so backward in its duty to itself and to Africa, awake 
to vigorous effort. The same causes with concurring cir- 
cumstances, will produce like effects so long as the laws of 
nature remain unchanged, and the nature of man the same. 

' Some, it is true, make a mock at the evils of slavery, and 
always puff at the idea of danger ; but for myself, although 
not made of so yielding materials as to be easily alarmed by 
merely imaginary fears, I confess it appears far more than 
possible, that should we be indifferent to our duty, and angry 
discussions continue, the great and glorious Author of all our 
happiness and prosperity may be provoked by our sins, to 
blast our national blessings, and lay prematurely in the grave 
all our prospects. Empires rise and fall at His command. 
We look back through the long vista of ages, and many na- 
tions that were once, are now no more. Others are mere 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 273 



Colonization or ruin. 



fragments and shadows of what was once their pride. Na- 
tions will not exist as such in another world, and therefore 
receive the retributions of divine justice here. In what has 
been in the history of nations, we may read our own doom. 
It is written — and if we repent not of the evil, confessing 
and forsaking our sins, and endeavoring to make suitable 
amends, whatever our national or individual sins may be, 
we must abide the consequence. There is, in what we now 
see, cause to fear. Those local interests, and that local jea- 
lousy and personal ambition and unfeeling cupidity which 
are already supplanting the former sterling patriotism of our 
country, creating discord, justifying opposition to authority, 
trampling constitution and law under foot, glorying in party 
devotion, lightly esteeming the national compact, and even 
threatening the dissolution of our Union, may be the very 
prelude of a visitation of wrath from the power of infinite 
Justice. A foreign influence encouraged by ourselves, cher- 
ished by blind party zeal, is also every day acquiring strength, 
and may one day throw its whole weight into whatever scale 
may tell most to the ruin of our hopes. Our own native ci- 
tizens of the North are divided in sentiment — not in respect 
to the evils of slavery itself — not in respect to the necessity 
of doing something to avert from us and from our country 
the disgrace and the danger — but in respect to the manner of 
doing it; and angry debate, divisions among friends, and 
rioting and bloodshed is the consequence V 

* The violence of party spirit, and the atrocities that have 
been committed of late years by mobs, it appears to me. Pa,' 
said Caroline, * are evidence of a great decHne in correct 
moral sentiment, and forbode still greater insecurity and 
danger.' 

' This is, indeed, a most alarming feature in the present 
political aspect of our country,' said Mr. L. ' Against mob 



274 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Increase of blacks. 



law in any country, but especially one like ours, there is no 
security, except in the sound principles and correct moral 
feeling of the mass of the people. The spoke of the wheel 
which is upward this moment, may be down the next, and 
they who are to-day applauded, may to-morrow be the foot- 
ball of an infatuate and infuriate populace. Nature's great 
poet has well described the influence and caprice of a mob ; 

•' Yon are no surer, no. 
Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, 
Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is, 
To make him worthy, whose offence subdues hira, 
And curse that justice did it. 
***** jjg {jjjjt depends 
Upon your favors, swims with fins of lead 
And hews down oaks with rushes* Hang ye ! Trust ye ? 
With every minute you do change a mind ; 
And call him noble, that was now your hate, 
Him vile, that was your garland." 

A resort to mob violence is ever to be deprecated, and should 
always be discouraged by every good citizen, let the offence 
which is made a plea for the measure be what it may.'* 

* The increase of slaves in our country is very rapid, is it 
not, Pa V said Henry. 



* The author is happy here to quote the following correct and very sensi- 
ble remarks of the Rev. George A. Baxter, D. D., of Virginia : — " It should 
always be kept in mind, that in a free country, the worst thing that can hap- 
pen, is the destruction of the authority of law. It may seem to be an inno- 
cent, or even a laudable thing, to punish a dangerous emissary; but let it be 
remembered, that there is no medium between the power of the law and 
the arbitrary power of man ; and the arbitrary power of men, in whatever 
form, is despotism. When the mob rules, we have an hundred tyrants in- 
stead of one ; but the more numerous our tyrants, the wor.se our situation. 
Should it become common for unauthorized individuals to take the punish- 
ment of real or supposed crimes into their own hands, any thing might be 
made a crime, every thing would be unsafe, and the whole population must 
be divided into clans or parties for the purpose of defence or retaliation ; 
every thing must be thrown into jeopardy and confusion, and we should lose 
all the attributes of a civilized and Christian people. These are considera- 
tions," the learned Professor adds, "which ought to have prevented much" 
that has been done of late in the SDUthern states. " Some of our citizens," 
he says, "seemed to lose sight of these principles in the moment of excite- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 275 



Danger arising from a mixed population. 



* Yes ; the increase is now near 60,000 a year. In 25 
years, it will, at the present rate of increase, be 140,000 !* 

* How formidable,' said Caroline, ' would be an insurrec- 
tion of millions of slaves ! and these perhaps aided by tens of 
thousands of naturalized citizens whose sympathies are all 
with adverse powers, and abetted also, it may be, by the 
blind zeal of many native citizens who consider not the full 
tendency of their views and efforts, as well as by the reck- 
less ambition of the unprincipled ! An African sceptre, or 
that of some other foreign power, may yet be wielded over 
some part or the whole of our country.' 

' I do not think that such an event will ever be,' said Mr. 
L., ' although, as I have said, we are far from secure. We 
may be scourged, and that severely, to urge us to duty ; that 
the African may be permitted to go up from his house of 
bondage. Band after band of the rebellious and their coad- 
jutors, may be cut down, by the sword of defence ; but this 
necessity will be no light affliction upon the heart of huma- 
nity ; and it will be no light judgment which falls upon us 

ment, but since the alarm has somewhat subsided, these principles appear 
to be appreciated by the great body of the community." 

It is confidently hoped and believed that the same principles commend 
themselves to the great body of the people in every part of our Union. 
May these sentiments predominate, and may all people — South or North, 
East or West — Colonizationisls or Abolitionists, or opposed to4)oth or either! 
or in favor of both or either, or indifferent, respect the laws. 

* Mr. Mathew Carey of Philadelphia, a warm friend to humanity and 
advocate for colonization, has laid before the world a table showing the pro- 
gressive increase of the colored population of our country, and the probable 
increase for the time to come ; and by his statement it appears that, 

In 1790, our colored population was - - 757,178; 

1800, 1,006,921 i 

1810, 1,377,780 : 

1820, l,771,658j 

1830, 2,330,039: 

which shows an increase of 1,572,831, in 40 years. At the same rale of in* 
crease, it will be for the next 40 years, as follows : 

In 1840, whole number .... 3,045,504 

1850, 4,111,430: 

I860, 5,549,435: 

1870, 7,491,737.' 



J76 PLEA FOR AFRICA* 



Even partial success a great blessing. 



when we shall look over the long catalogue of the victims of 
the nocturnal massacre — whole sections of our land being 
turned into bloody sepulchres, filled with the ghastly corpses 
of our friends, hoary age and smiling infancy, manhood in its 
strength, and womanhood in its loveUness, virgins in their 
beauty, and young men in their vigor, involved in promis- 
cuous butchery, and strewed beneath the bleeding thousands 
of slaves and their abettors, who, having done the deed, are 
made to atone for it by their own blood.* 



CONVERSATION XXVlIl. 



"I behold with thesincerest pleasure the commencement of an institution 
whose progress and termination will, I trust, be attended with the most suc- 
cessful results. I shall probably not live to witness the vast changes in the 
condition of man which are about to take place in the world ; but the era is 
already commenced, its progress is apparent, its end is certain. * * Where 
then, my dear Sir, will be the last foot-hold of slavery in the world ? Is it 
destined to be the opprobrium of this fine country ?" — Lafayette. 

The conversation being resumed, Mr. L. said, ' If the 
colonization scheme succeed, even partially, does it not ap' 
pear beyond doubt, my children, that our country will be 
greatly benefitted? It will be enriched. Tens of thousands 
of places will be opened for those of our own color and 
habits and sympathies — and by a more wholesome popula- 
tion and grateful labor, industry will be promoted, misery 
alleviated, our country strengthened. Africans themselves 
will be enriched and blessed in their father's native land, and 
the benefit will be thus mutual.' 

Said Henry, ' I should think it would be considered a set- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 277 



Slaves in other times of the color of their masters. 

tied point that general and immediate emancipation is hardly 
safe, and not preferable to slavery either for the whites or 
the blacks V 

Mr. L. considered it to be 'a sadly demonstrative truth 
that the negro cannot, in this country, become an enlighten- 
ed and useful citizen, so long, at least, as what are deno- 
minated our prejudices against color, &c. remain the same ; 
for such are the circumstances in which he will be placed, 
unavoidably — that he will not, cannot feel a citizen's name- 
less incentives to a manly and noble conduct. The almost 
united voice of those who have had the best opportunity of 
judging in the case, is "liberate them only on the condition 
of their going to Africa, Hayti, or some place where they 
will be blessed by their liberty, and we secure." Nor is 
this the sentiment of those who are advocates for slavery ; 
but of those whose souls indignantly disclaim so unworthy 
a bias, and whose hearts bleed for injured Africa. 

* The slavery of other nations has been that chiefly of 
men of the same complexion with the free. As soon as the 
slave was released, he and his descendants might mingle 
and lose himself in the general community of the country, 
undistinguished by any stamp of nature upon his original. 
But here, the features, the complexion, and every peculiarity 
of his person, pronounce upon the ransomed slave another 
doom. He feels it — -and he feels it too just as we should 
feel it, our conditions reversed. And if the day ever arrives 
when an universal emancipation of the slaves of the South 
shall be effected, and they remain upon the soil, those whites 
who may remain with them in portions of the country where 
there shall be a decided superiority of numbers on the side 
of the blacks, will be made themselves to feel that the dif- 
ferences which nature has caused, are serious obstacles in 
the way of their peace and happiness. The blacks will, in 
their turn, resent the idea of inferiority, assert a superiority 

z 



278 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Colonization unites conflicting interests. 



themselves, and will become the oppressors. Snch is the 
honest opinion of thousands. 

* The object of the Colonization Society, therefore, meets 
the views of those who wish the slaves to be freed, but who 
desire also to see them in a community of their own, " where 
they may taste the joys, sustain the honors, and be stimu- 
lated by the lofty aspirings of freemen ; where their color 
shall be the common color, and where a darkness of skin 
shall neither cramp the expansive energies of their intellects, 
slacken the vigor of their efforts, nor in any way establish 
an insuperable barrier between them and the first honors of 
the state." Believing as they do, and in perfect consisten- 
cy with the kindliest regard for their colored brelhrcR, that 
black and white can never associate in society as white now 
associates with white, on equal terms, having one commu- 
nity of Interest in business, in marriage, and the participa- 
tion of all rights ; and that, therefore, they can never live 
together in happiness, and that one of these two great and 
distinctive bodies must always hold the ascendency, they 
feel impelled by a sacred regard for the best interests of their 
colored brethren, to encourage their colonization in a land, 
where if their happiness consists at all in independence, they 
may be most happy.' 

Said Caroline, ' It is very evident that great wisdom and 
prudence are necessary in determining a question of such 
moment. O, I wish that good men could all think alike, 
and act together in this matter, pursuing right measures and 
cherishing right desires. I am satisfied that the whole 
subject, in all its relations and bearings, is too little un- 
derstood.' 

* Dr. HoDGKiN, of London, a warm friend and advocate of 
Colonization, has suggested that the fundamental principle 
of the Colonization Society may be compared with that of 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 279 



Both blacks and whites benefitted by Colonization. 

the Bible Society, whose avowed object is the diffusion of 
the pure word of God, " without note or comment, an ob- 
ject to which few can be opposed who are not opposed to 
the Bible." "Its single object is ' the colonization of the 
free people of color, with their consent, in Africa, or such 
other place as Congress may deem most expedient.' I con- 
ceive," says Dr. Hodgkin, " that the founders of the society 
are entitled to praise for having given so brief, and, at the 
same time, so comprehensive a definition of their object. It 
sets forth explicitly abundant work for any society to under- 
take, without advancing any thing which can come in colli- 
sion with the expressed or even secret opinions of any par- 
ties or individuals, unless it be of those who believe that 
the well-being of the blacks will be promoted in proportion 
to the increase of their numbers within the States, a doc- 
trine which appears to have originated since the formation 
of the Colonization Society. * * It cannot, however, be 
supposed that the supporters of the Bible Society merely 
contemplate the scattering of Bibles and Testaments, from 
which no other effect is to proceed than the mere occupa- 
tion of space. They look forward to their becoming the 
powerful agents of an enlightening and moralizing influence. 
But if we interrogate the members of that society individually, 
we shall probably find, that, besides the one object in which 
they all cordially unite, there are other inducements, differing 
in each, and which could not be brought forward without 
their again becoming the subjects of schismatic convulsions 
and violent dispute. * * * The principal motive appears 
to be to benefit the colored population ; and more especially 
that portion of it, which, though not literally loaded with 
servile chains, is nevertheless suffering from the pains of 
slavery, and, with but few exceptions, reduced to a misera- 
ble and degraded rank in society, and for whose assistance 
many comparatively unsuccessful efforts havQ previously 



280 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



An honorable instance. 



been made. At the same time the founders of the Society- 
were fully sensible that the baneful influence of slavery 
was by no means limited to those objects of their care, but 
that it was also generally felt by the great mass of the white 
population." 

' Permit me here, my dear children,' said Mr. L., * to 
mention the case of one whom I respect and esteem, with 
whom I have often sat at the table of our common Lord, and 
whom I have seen year after year shedding around him the 
influence of a Christian example, in circumstances both 
prosperous and afflictive. I took some pains, a few years 
since, when travelling in the southern part of our country, 
to call upon him, that I might converse with him on the sub- 
ject of our present conversation. This man — I will recall 
the expression — this gentleman, for gentleman he was, in 
the legitimate sense of the term, had been himself a slave. 
He gave for his freedom, from what he had earned over and 
above the daily sum which was required by an indulgent 
master, who had hired him his time, one thousand dollars. 
He then, by patient and persevering industry and frugality, 
purchased his wife and child who were also slaves ; and for 
them was required to give to their exorbitant master, fourteen 
hundred dollars ! When he told me of this latter fact, 
which I knew before, he said, with a smile of self-gratula- 
tion, and with two meanings, both of which I believe were 
most sincere, " She is my dear wife !" He still lives to 
enjoy the fruit of his noble efforts, except as death has re- 
moved his companion. He is of a commanding person, 
modest demeanor, gentlemanly address, well-informed mind, 
humble piety, good judgment, business talents, and was, 
when I last saw him, surrounded by an interesting family, 
and possessed of two valuable plantations. He was also 
said to be owner of a large number of slaves, and had been 
instrumental in procuring the freedom of a still larger num- 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 281 



Views of a virtuous, intelligent colored man. 



ber. Said this individual, in answer to my inquiries, de- 
signed to elicit his views, " I cannot, to be sure, contemplate 
the condition of my family without feeling. Color is a 
dividing line that of course separates them from the society 
of white people, in a great measure, and there are few as- 
sociates for them of sufficient respectability among the color- 
ed. Respectable colored people are not indeed at home in 
this country. I feel most for my children," said he, the big 
tear starting in his eye and falling down his manly cheek. 
I suggested that some had thought to better their condition 
by removal; he said, " Some recommend Ohio, some New- 
England, or elsewhere, but the same difficulty exists in every 
place. Much has been said of Hayti, but our own govern- 
ment and institutions are better than their's. I have read 
and thought much of Liberia, and approve of the colony, 
but the colored people generally prefer to remain where they 
are ; I am myself getting to be old, and shall soon be done 
with earth." He expressed himself with modesty and cau- 
tion, but with proper self-respect, intimating that if he could 
see his family differently situated, not isolated as here, he 
should die happy. It was decidedly his opinion that the 
whites and blacks can never live together as one community, 
both enjoying all those privileges which are indispensable to 
the happiness of either. 

' I will now advert briefly to other considerations which 
should influence us in desiring to see the evils and the re- 
proach of slavery done away. A powerful motive, in my 
mind, is the fact, that whilst humanity and patriotism call 
us to the work, the nations of the earth look to us that we 
should do it. They have before them, hung up, as it were 
in mid-heaven, in view of the whole world, for all to gaze 
upon, that noble mstrument, our Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. That Declaration, it has been well said, is a nation's 
oath ; the solemn and direct appeal of a Christian nation to 

z2 



282 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

A nation's oath. — Our obligations as a Christian country. 

the high Providence above ; an appeal, the responsibilities 
of which were assumed in the face of the whole world. 
When I think of that declaration, and of the comment which 
slavery furnishes upon a certain line of it, I confess that I 
feel the patriot's glow of wounded pride and deep regret ; 
and, were it practicable, I would fain hold up that memorable 
instrument to the view of my countrymen, and beseech 
them to weigh again its solemn import, and retract, amend, 
justify, or unite in practice which shall be consistent with 
our declarations. With a voice that should sound from the 
St. Lawrence to California, and from these shores to the 
farthest West, could it be done consistently with our obliga- 
tions to all, I would exhort our country, and intreat every 
individual to look, and by harmonious action, wipe off from 
our national escutcheon this dark blot. Would the South pre- 
pare the w^ay, and could the resources of our national trea- 
sury be brought to the accomplishment of this noble deed, 
every section of our common country uniting cheerfully in 
the arrangement, I would greatly rejoice. It would reflect 
high honor upon our beloved land. 

* Again, we should feel that as a Christian people we owe 
a duty to Africa and her oppressed children. Although a 
Christian country, our fathers, such was the ignorance of 
those times in respect to the true nature and evils of slavery, 
sinned against humanity, and wronged that unhappy, pagan 
continent. We should feel that it is our duty to do all that 
Providence now permits, to recompense Africa. And we 
should also feel that if we neglect our duty in this respect, 
we have the more reason to tremble for our safety, since, 
where much is given, the more is required. To these con- 
siderations, if I remember, 1 have in some way adverted 
before.' 

'I cannot see,' Caroline very properly remarked, 'how 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 283 



Heaven on the side of Africa. 



any one who has the heart of a man, can be indifferent to the 
object ; much less how any Christian can oppose.' 

Mr. L. after a moment's pause, here repeated those lines 
from Pierpont, 

" Hear'st thou, God, those chains, 
Clanking on Freedom's plain?, 

By Christian's wrought? 
Them who those chains have worn, 
Christians from home have torn, 
Christians have hither borne, 

Christians have bought!" 

' God does hear,' Mr. L. continued, ' and already does he 
who has said " .-Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands 
unto God," see her begiiming to stretch out her hands, and 
implore his blessing. She lifts one hand to heaven and 
prays ; with the other she beckons her children to come up 
from their house of bondage. If we awake to our duty, 
heaven will be with us ; if we will hold back or resist, we 
may still be assured that God is with Africa. Her cause is 
the cause of justice, of religion, of humanity. God will 
favor it, and if we oppose, he may do it at our cost. It is 
true, the Almighty has not broken the silence of the heavens, 
to speak in favor of Africa's cause, and of the colonization 
enterprise ; but his approbation has not been withheld. Con- 
ducted with reference to his will and glory, with regard to 
his authority, having also the moral and religious good, as 
well as the civil and political elevation of the colonists in 
view, God will still favor the cause. There can be no rea- 
sonable doubt that the colonization enterprise is approved by 
him. As my greatly esteemed friend, the Rev. Dr. Beecher 
said, the other day, in his colonization address at Pittsburgh, 
" I do not think that a society, heaven-moved as this society 
was, by such wisdom as Samuel J. Mills was blessed with, 
and by such wisdom as he commanded into its service, moved 



284 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Our obligations as a Christian country. 



on by such faith and prayer, and so blessed of heaven, 
as this has been in its past labors, and still is, could have 
been born by wisdom from beneath. As the natives who 
chased Captain Wilson, the commander of the Duff, un- 
til .they saw him plunge into a stream so full of alligators 
that if a man did but put his finger in the water it would be 
bitten off, and who supposed when they saw it, that they 
need do no more, but upon beholding him emerging and 
climbing up the bank on the other side, cried, ' Don't fire, he 
is God's man :' so I would say of this society, it is God's 
Society. In its commencement it was his ; in its progress 
it has been his ; and the station it now occupies in the midst 
of all the difficulties which have grown out of inexperience, 
and the peculiar nature of the subject, shows it to be his ; 
and so does its success in Africa." ' 

' It appears to me,' said Caroline, ' that the favor of heaven 
towards the colonies, and the cause of ci)lonization, is very 
apparent ; and I wonder that any should dare oppose, lest, 
haply, they "be found fighting against God." And then the 
fact that so many good and wise men who can be influenced 
on this subject by no sinister motives, some of whom were 
once unfavorable to colonization, but on examination have 
changed their minds, are among the warm friends and self- 
denying promoters of colonization, is to my mind evidence 
that is almost 

" Confirmation strong 
As holy writ." 

A Madison, a Monroe, a Carroll, Judge Washington, our 
greatly venerated and now lamented good Bishop White, 
Robert Ralston, John Marshall, William Wirt, Fitzhugh, 
Finley, Evarts, Cornelius, Wisner, sainted spirits now in 
heaven with Ashmun, and Mills, and Carey, and Randall, 
and Cox, and Anderson, and olliers who died in the service 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 285 



A great and worthy enterprise. 



of Africa ; what a noble list might we write of its friends 
from the catalogue of the lamented dead, whose remem- 
brance is blessed ! And then the living — what an array of 
the names of the great and the good come up before the 
mind !' 

' Many prayers ascend to heaven,' said Mr. L., ' in behalf 
of the colonization enterprise. It is a cause dear to many a 
pious heart.' 



CONVERSATION XXIX 



" In vain ye limit mind's unwearied spring : 
What ! can ye lull the winged winds asleep, 
Arrest the rolling world, or chain the deep ?" — Camphell. 

' Good morning, my children.' 
' Good morning. Pa,' said Henry. 

* Good morning, Pa,' said Caroline. ' I have been think- 
ing much of Africa and Colonization, of America and our 
duty,' said Caroline ; ' and the more I contemplate it, the 
more the work in which the Colonization Society is engag- 
ed, appears so noble and godlike, that I should think it would 
be considered by all as worthy of the noblest energies of our 
nature — worthy the efforts and prayers of every patriot and 
Christian in our land.' 

* We have reason to hope that the time is not far distant,' 
said Mr. L., * when the benevolent and pious of our land 
will all engage in this work, regarding Africa, more than we 
have hitherto done, as a wide field for missionary enterprise, 
where our most ardent wishes and untiring efforts should be 
directed. Every passing year, the condition and claims of 



286 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Africa's claims beginning to be acknowledged. 



Africa are more and better understood, and the subject is 
taking deeper and deeper hold on the honor, the justice, the 
patriotic and Christian sympathies of our highly favored 
country. The work will be done — and I love to anticipate 
the day. 

" Where barb'rous hordes on Scythian mountains roam, 

Truth, Mercy, Freedom, yet shall find a home : 

Where'er degraded nature bleeds and pines. 

From Guinea's coast to Siber's dreary mines, 

Truth shall pervade th' unfathom'd darkness there, 

And light the dreadful features of despair; 

There the stern captive spurn his heavy load. 

And ask the image back that heaven beslow'd : 

Fierce in his eyes the fire of valor burn, 

And as the slave departs, the man return." 

Yes, it will be done, for the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it. It will be done — and Africa, enlightened, rege- 
nerated, blessed, will remember the Colonization Society as 
her Moses, which led her up from bondage. Forgetting her 
wrongs, obliterating from her mind the dark history of all 
her griefs, and remembering only the blessings received, she 
will look to this happy land, and say, breathing the sweet 
spirit of the gospel of Christ, "There are our Benefac- 
tors." ' 

*I trust. Pa, the vision will be fulfilled. I love to think 
of Africa as a field of missionary enterprise. It is so ex- 
tensive, and gives promise of such rich blessings.' 

'As a missionary field,' said Mr. L., 'it is limited only by 
the confines of one of the largest quarters of the habitable 
globe. Other missionary operations, although successful to 
a considerable degree, have not had a success corresponding 
in extent with the piety and benevolence of their aim, or 
with the amount of means which have been applied. Great 
advantages are united in the colonization enterprise. "Every 
emigrant to Africa is a missionary going forth with his cre- 
dentials, in the holy cause of civilization and religion and 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 287 



Africa a missionary field. 



free institutions, and the colonies which we establish will be 
so many points from which the beams of Christianity and 
civilization will radiate on all that empire of ignorance and 
sin. These influences must be poured in from the western 
coast. The northern boundary is within the dominion of 
the false Prophet, and no light is to be expected from that 
direction. If we look towards its eastern border, we look 
to the region and shadow of death." Colonization devi- 
ates from the practice of other missionary institutions, and 
employs as agents the very brethren of the people sought to 
be converted. "It proposes to send, not one or two pious 
men into a foreign land, among a different and perhaps sus- 
picious race, of another complexion ; but to transport an- 
nually, for an indefinite number of years, hundreds and thou- 
sands of missionaries, of the descendants of Africa herself, 
with the same interests, sympathies, and constitutions of the 
natives. This colony of missionaries is to operate not alone 
by the preaching of the gospel, but also by works of ocular 
demonstration. It will open forests, build towns, erect tem- 
ples of worship, and practically exhibit to the sons of Af- 
rica the beautiful moral spectacle and the superior advan- 
tages of our own religious and social systems." Its means 
are simple ; its end is grand and magnificent. Christianity 
will beautify Africa, and civilization will enlighten it. The 
Mahometans of the North will feel the influence ; the Pa- 
gans who worship in her forests and groves, will be saved ; 
Abyssinia, now lighted by a few rays of Christian light, will 
feel the full shining of the Sun of righteousness ; idols will 
fall ; human blood will no more be poured from victims sa- 
crificed ; the slave-ship will be driven from the coast ; and 

Africa will feel a return of more than Egyptian greatness 

more than Carthagenian glory.* 

♦Touching the advantages for prosecuting this great work in Africa, the 
mrcular ot ttte Rew York Ladies' Society remarks ; •• access to her coast is 



288 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Bright prospects. — Fond anticipation of Mills. 



' This seems to have been the view which the sainted 
Mills had at the very first. "If," says he, " by pursuing 
the object now in view, a few of the free blacks of good 
character could be settled in any part of the African coast, 
they might be the means of introducing civilization and re- 
ligion among the barbarous nations there, and their settle- 
ment might increase gradually, and some might in suitable 
'time go out from that settlement, and from others, and prove 
the occasion of great good." To what work more noble, 
could the powers of this whole nation be applied, than that 
of bringing up from darkness, debasement, and misery, a race 
of men, and shedding abroad over the wide territories of Af- 
rica, the light of science, freedom, and Christianity. Whilst 
humanity points to the thousands of the victims of the slave- 
trade, and conjures us to aid in its suppression — and whilst 
patriotism calls us to seek our country's good and wash our 
hands as a nation of the guilt of slavery ; religion speaks 
with loftier tone and instructs us that all men are "one flesh" 
— that we are brethren — that he who loves not his brother, 
cannot love God — that all are equally bound to the service of 
the Almighty — that all are equally entitled to the good offices 
of each other, and that he who would not lay down his life 
for his brethren, has not ascended to the height of the Sa- 
viour's charity. The day will come when Christian princi- 
ples shall rule the world, and Africa will be a bright and 
happy part of the Saviour's dominions.' 

easy — a voyage requiring not more than about thirty days' intercourse with 
her inhabitants is practicable. 'J hoiisands Jiave been settled on her coasts 
who are well acquainted with our language. There are no cords of caste, 
as in many other heathen countries, to be broken — no regularly constructed 
and long standing systems of idolatry to be undermined or overturned. The 
African mind is vacant ground to be entered and occupied by Christian 
truth. On this subject, Mr. Pinney remarks, ' the carnal heart is allthe mis- 
sionary has to meet, 'i'he African people have no idolatry to be given up. 
They never ihmk of such a thing as vvorshipping an idol. This very desti- 
tution of all system of religion preoccupying their mind, opens at once a 
wide door for missionary effort.' The African temper is mild — the African 
character more pliable to the influences of the gospel, than that of most, if 
not any other heathen community." 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 289 



Emancipation not our only duty. 



Henry here started a difficulty on which he had thought 
much. * We will admit,' said he, « that emancipation can- 
not liberate us from the responsibihty that rests upon us ; 
that we must do what we can to provide for our colored po- 
pulation in a country where they shall be truly free ; and 
that we must be satisfied with nothing short of the annihila- 
tion of the slave-trade, and the regeneration of Africa. But 
is it not to be feared that there may be a lack of mental ca- 
pacity for self-government, which will after all, render it im- 
possible for the blacks to become a free, civilized, and indepen- 
dent nation, and make abortive all plans for their separate and 
independent existence V 

* Recollect, Henry,' said his father, * that but a few years 
since, the colored population of St. Domingo was sunk in all 
the degradation and ignorance and improvidence of slavery. 
They took the work of emancipation into their own hands, 
and effecting their deliverance, established a regular govern- 
ment, enacted wholesome laws, ably administered those laws, 
and commenced a march of improvement which promises 
happy results. The world cannot exhibit a brighter ex- 
ample of wisdom and prudence, if we consider that example 
in connexion with their former debasement.' 

*But, oh !' said Caroline, with energy, ' 'twas a bloody, 
cruel struggle.' 

'Yes,' said Mr. L., * there were scenes of violence at- 
tending it, which every benevolent heart deplores. The very 
thought of it makes one shudder.' 

* And yet, Pa,' said Henry, ' we cannot but respect the 
mental capacity and the energy of character, which brought 
the final result. Why, Pa, since the stain of slavery is na- 
tional, and we as a nation are so deeply concerned in its re- 
moval, may not appropriations be made from the national 

A a 



290 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



The United Slates must engage in the work. 



treasury to aid in the object? If our national Congress would 
agree to sustain the expense of the removal of the blacks 
who feel disposed to colonize, and to relieve the owners of 
slaves of a part of that sacrifice which must be consequent 
on relinquishing their claims, it appears to me that the work 
might proceed with as much despatch at least as would be 
consistent with the safety of the settlements.' 

Mr. L. replied, ' Several of our most eminent statesmen 
have recommended the appropriation of the income arising 
from the sale of the public lands, to the aid of African colo- 
nization. Mr. Madison has suggested that if doubts are en- 
tertained by any as to the power of Congress to appropriate 
the national funds to the object, the requisite authority might 
easily be obtained by an amendment of the Constitution. It 
is to be presumed that the States both North and South 
would approve the measure. In my own view, there is no 
doubt of the right of appropriation. The public money has 
been expended in aid of colonization, and why may it not 
be still further appropriated ? Mr. Jefferson said in 1811, in 
a letter to Mr. Clay, in reference to a colony in Africa, " In- 
deed, nothing is more to be wished than that the United 
States would themselves undertake to make such an estab- 
lishment on the coast of Africa." His various correspon- 
dence and efforts in relation to this matter, clearly show 
what were his views. And, said Mr. Monroe, "As to the 
people of color, if the people of the southern States wish to 
emancipate them, (and I never will consent to emancipate 
them without sending them out of the country,) they may 
invite the United States to assist us ; but without such an in- 
vitation, the other States ought not, and will not, interfere. 
I am for marching on with the greatest circumspection upon 
this subject." These distinguished men seem to have had 
no insuperable difficulty in regard to the constitutional ques- 
tion of the right of appropriation.' 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 291 



Right of appropriation. 



* I love,' said Caroline, * to think it possible that the day 
will come, and that it is already near, when our country will 
find every obstacle removed for the free exercise of our ut- 
most benevolence. I long to see our country free from 
slavery's stain ; I long to see the children of Africa go forth 
by the free consent of the South, and by the friendly aid of 
our whole country, from their house of bondage ; and I con- 
fess I long as much, or more, to see Africa free through the 
influence of the gospel. I was never accustomed, until these 
conversations, to look upon colonization as a missionary en- 
terprise. But now, viewed in this light alone, it appears to 
me one of the grandest schemes of true Christian benevo- 
lence that was ever undertaken by man.' 

* Colonization,' Mr. L. rejoined, * proposes liberty to Af- 
rica and her children in a nobler sense than is generally con- 
sidered. It proposes freedom, indeed, from physical bond- 
age ; and, although not by any compulsory or objectionable 
process, which surely should greatly recommend it to all 
friends of peace and justice, it proposes to secure great tem- 
poral blessings to a now enslaved people, and to a continent ; 
but it proposes more — a liberty 

" unsung 
By poets, and by senators unpraised ; 
Wliich monarchs cannot give, nor all the powers 
Of earth and hell confederate take away. 
Which, whoso feels, shall be enslaved no more ; 
'Tis liberty of heart derived from heaven." ' 

The conversation was now closed with the understanding 
that it should be resumed on the morrow. 



292 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Objections answered. 



CONVERSATION XXX. 

"The God of heaven, I believe from my very soul, is with us. Under 
such auspices we cannot fail. With zeal, energy, and perseverance, we 
shall subdue all difficulties and ultimately realize every hope." — Henry Clay. 

Henry observed that he had * noticed, on looking over the 
anti-colonization publications, that it is objected that, even if 
funds are furnished, it will be impossible to transport so great 
numbers to Africa as the present and rapidly increasing co- 
lored population of our country, vessels not being sufficient^ 
iy numerous for the purpose.'* 

Mr. L. replied, ' I know that this is said ; and it, perhaps, 
strikes the mind of the casual observer with some force. 
The annual increase of our colored population, 80,000 or 
more being added every year, is great ; and the annual in- 
crease may be more than 100,000 before the necessary ar- 
rangements can be made for the removal of a much greater 
number pei annum than hitherto. But with adequate means, 
and under the protection of the national government, the 
transportation of emigrants wall become a great and impor- 
tant branch of business. Our navigators will provide ships 
enough, when they are sure of a reasonable recompense. A 
profitable commerce will be opened with Africa for her im- 
portant native productions ; and the growing colonies will 
themselves navigate the seas, claiming a share of the honor 
and profits of the transportation. Increasing numbers of the 
free will, unaided, also find their way to the land of their 
fathers, and " having formed establishments of their own, 
and in their turn visiting our shores with crews of colored 

* It has been well asked, " If it be a fact that sixteen millions have been 
torn away from Africa by the hand of avarice and cruelty, cannot the gene- 
rosity and kindness of a Christian nation carry back two millions?" 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 293 



Means of transportation. 



men, enterprising and prosperous, they will draw others 
after them" to the then happy and growing colonies from 
which they come. 

' How many, suppose you, are every year transported into 
Canada and to this country, from among the refuse popula- 
tion of Great Britain and Ireland ? Thousands of these are 
sent in crowds and landed upon our shores as forlorn out- 
casts. We would do better by Africans than Great Britain, 
with all her boasted philanthropy, does even for her own 
children. We would place them under far more favorable 
circumstances. And our resources are fully equal to all that 
we can desire, if the national aid may only be obtained. 
United States' ships of war might be advantageously em- 
ployed in this service, in time of peace, transporting under 
the stars and stripes of the national flag, to the land of their 
ancestors, the sons of injured Africa, where they may enjoy 
the full blessings of religion and liberty. It would be a noble 
service, and an honor to our flag. 

* It is true, we do not expect to remove a world, without 
preparing for the operation ; but the transportation of our 
colored population can be eftected, and expeditiously too, 
in comparison with the magnitude of the work. Great 
things are usually accomplished slowly. Liberia has ad- 
vanced far more rapidly than did the infant colonies of this 
country.* It has met with obstacles, in its progress, and so 
did these colonies; and we may well ask, what great human 
undertaking was ever exempt from difliculties ? Are we re- 

* The slow increase of a colony at its commencement is the dictate of 
prudence. " The French colony at Cayenne was begun, as that nation ex- 
presses it, on a grand scale ; 12,000 settlers embarked, and almost all perish- 
ed. A few people form the best germ for a colony. Double or treble their 
numbers every year, and you will see them thrive. Pour in a larger popu- 
lation than can be provided for, and the whole must perish. In this, nature 
points out our course : the shoot from an acorn rises at first slowly ; but as it 
acquires strength it gains beyond conception, at every annual ring, till the 
insignificant fruit of one .short season sees numerous generations enjoy its 
amp'e shade." — Repository. 

A a2 



294 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Compared with other enterprises. 



ferred to Liberia's bills of mortality ? A large portion of 
the deaths are attributable to rash exposure, and other im- 
prudencies, under the action of an untried sun, and subject 
to the action of a strange climate. Another cause is proba- 
bly to be found in the destitute condition of some of the co- 
lonists, who having been just released from bondage, had 
neither the foresight nor the means requisite for a suitable 
outfit, leaving them in a situation of exposure which I am 
sure the experience and wisdom and benevolence of the 
friends of colonization will guard against in future.* Still 
the colony can triumphantly challenge a comparison with 
the bills of mortality of other colonies, in their early history, 
on any continent. Where were the first settlers of James- 
town e'er the four seasons had rolled by ? In their graves. 
Where were a majority of those who landed on Plymouth 
Kock, before the rigors of the first winter were past ? 
They were numbered with the dead. The same must be 
confessed of other colonies. True, they were a sacrifice to 
public good. So the event is now regarded by their pos- 
terity and the world ; and so the lesser trials which Liberia 
has encountered will be viewed v*'hen the page of history 
shall bear a fair record of the past and the present, and of a 
lew years to come. 

' A writer in the Boston Recorder has remarked, " Men 
may sacrifice life in the pursuits of gain at Havana, at Cal- 

* It is to be hoped tliat those whose generous feeling leads tliem lo libe- 
rate their slaves for tlie purpose of their voluntary settlement in Africa, will 
avail themselves of iho experience uliich is had in relation to this suiyect, 
and see that tho^e whom they manumit for emigration are provided with all 
suitable apparel and other necessaries and comlorls. A mattress and bed- 
clothes, and a ftdl supply of cotton and woollen clothing, are indispensable. 
The author is happy to lind that the ladies, who, their benevolent hearts al- 
ways prompting them to kind actions, are generally found eflicient suppor- 
ters of the cause of colonization where its claims are understood, have in 
many instances rendered very great assistance in the preparation and gra- 
tuitous offering of bedding and garments for the destitute among the emigrat- 
ing colonists. May this good work of charity be continued, and the number 
who shall lend a helping hand be greatly increased ! 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 295 



Great things usually accomplished slowly. 



cutta, and at any other unhealthy spot on the globe, most 
prodigally, and no complaint is made. But if a number of 
individuals fall a sacrifice in a benevolent enterprise, in an 
effort to pour the light of eternal life on dark and forlorn 
Africa, why it is a criminal waste of human life. But no, 
it is not thus. Ashmun lived only six years after he went 
to Africa, but he lived nobly. Mills lived hardly six months, 
but Mills lived not in vain ; his example shines with no 
feeble lustre ; his voice speaks from the depths of the At- 
lantic, and it will speak till Africa is free. Anderson, and 
Lott Carey, and Randall, and Skinner, were soon cut down, 
but their names will live till time shall be no longer. " ' 

Caroline here remarked, ' if we look at missionary opera- 
tions in India, the sacrifice of life has-been as great as in 
Liberia; has it not. Pa?' 

Mr. L. replied, ' the average life of the missionaries of 
the American Board, in India, has been but five years. Fiske, 
and Newall, and Hall, and Parsons, and other choice spirits 
were soon numbered with the dead. But though they found 
an early grave in heathen lands, and the benevolent mourn 
their loss, and Christianity weeps at the desolations of 
paganism, we do not cease to aim at the conversion of the 
heathen world. India is not abandoned, because trials are 
there endured in founding the church. Liberia is to the 
colored man a land of promise, compared with what India is 
to missionaries from this country.' 

Caroline said, ' I do not think that it can be reasonably 
objected to colonization that its success has been slow, for 
two reasons ; one is, as appears, that such is not the fact ; 
but, if it were, another reason is, that the same objection 
would be against every good cause, even against the Chris- 
tian religion.' 



296 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Room enough in Africa. 



' True, Caroline,' Mr. L. replied ; ' notwilhstancling the 
toils of its friends for near two thousand years, and the blood 
of its many martyrs shed in the cause, even the knowledge 
of our holy religion is confined to a comparatively small part 
of the human family.' 

' Another objection,' said Henry, ' which I have heard, is 
that, if all the blacks would go to Africa, they would not find 
room there for so many.' 

* This objection, I am sure,' said his father, ' can never 
be seriously urged, unless through extreme ignorance. What 
are two millions and a half of people to the vast extent of 
the African continent, stretching 4,800 miles from North to 
South, and 4000 miles from East to West? They would 
not be more than would be needed to help civilize and chris- 
tianize the benighted natives, and establish among them arts, 
and commerce, and agriculture, and the like. Africa, when 
we consider its extent, its variety of soil, and capability of 
sustaining an immense population, is thinly peopled. Colo- 
nization, it should be remembered, is not necessarily confined 
to Liberia and its vicinity. It is a lamentable reflection,' 
said Mr. L., ' that, charity leads us to think, for the want of 
a faithful examination of the subject, the most serious ob- 
stacles which the cause has met in its progress, have been 
the untenable and oft-refuted objections, bitter opposition 
and severe denunciations of professed friends of Africa in our 
own country. It grieves me that it should be so, since 
among them arc some whom I greatly esteem, notwithstand- 
ing this their very great error.' 

'I do not see. Pa, how any who understand this subject, 
(and all ought to understand it,) can oppose. If the Coloni- 
zation Society cannot, in their labors of benevolence, do all 
that is needful to be done, and as soon as is desirable, yet 
why should good men object to their attempting all that is 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 297 



All opposition is wrong. 



really practicable, and that would be, if accomplished, really 
useful V 

* Professor Silliman has gone so far as to remark,' said 
Mr. L., * that all efforts on the part of the friends of Afri- 
can improvement to discountenance and oppose voluntary 
African colonization, are morally wrong, and can be called 
by no milder name than systematized opposition against the 
whole African cause, embracing slaves, free colored people, 
and the native nations of Africa. 

' Could the demands of many be realized, and the color- 
ed race be made free in this country, however well they may 
intend, I am sure they would at once and continually have 
cause to mourn over those who are now slaves, and in their 
labors of love would find ample employment in visits of 
mercy to our jails and penitentiaries, and to the haunts of 
vice, and abodes of poverty. They would find the country 
involved in great ruin ; the colored people in great wretch- 
edness, and their very success would be their own defeat, so 
far as benevolent interest is concerned. But their wishes, I 
am morally certain, cannot be realized, even though rivers 
of blood should be shed ; and the longer the duration and 
the greater the fierceness of their opposition, the longer do 
they perpetuate the evils of slavery in our land, and the 
stronger do they rivet the chains of the slave, and the heavier 
the calamity which they bring both on the bond and the free, 
especially the slave and the free blacks. 

' And then, let them say, shall not Africa be civilized and 
converted to God ? 

" While on the distant Hindoo shore 

Messiah's cross is reared, 
While Pagan votaries bow no more 

With idol blood besmeared — 

While Palestine again doth hear 
The gospel's joyful sound. 



298 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



Shall not Africa be christianized. 



While Islam's crescents disappear 
From Calvary's holy ground — 

Say, shall not Afric's fated land 

With news of grace be blest ? 
Say, shall not Ethiopia's band 

Enjoy the promis'd rest ?" 

' They who have considered colonization in its influence 
on our own country only and on the blacks that are in it, 
have taken a very inadequate view of its amazing interest 
and unbounded extent. If the plan fail, or be hindered by 
opposition, they who oppose this great and good work, I do 
believe, will have a tremendous account to give.' 

' I do not see, Pa, that the Colonization Society and the 
Abolition or Anti-slavery Society, are associations of neces- 
sarily conflicting interests.' 

* They are not, and there should be no controversy be- 
tween them. " The cause of emancipation will advance as 
fast as means of emigration and of comfortable settlement in 
Africa or in other lands are provided. Cut ofl" this hope, 
and remove this security, and the slave-holding States will 
refuse to add to the mass of free people of color, already, in 
their view, too numerous for safety." They will resolve on 
making more strong their chains, hopeless of relief, to guard 
against a greater calamity than appears to them even slavery 
itself; and "linked in full military preparation and in wake- 
ful vigilance," they will await the issue. " In the meantime, 
the slightest appearance or even suspicion of revolt will be 
visited by prompt and sanguinary retribution." Thus, 
" anxiety will shroud the domestic circle of the slave-holder 
in gloom, and despair will settle upon the dark mind of the 
slave" — until perhaps some awful explosion shall come ! 

' There is one objection to the American Colonization So- 
ciety which, it appears to me, may with equal propriety be 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 2U9 



Colonization a noble branch of benevolence. 



urged against the benevolent institutions of the day general- 
ly, and the unreasonableness of which is too apparent to 
justify any misapprehension of the force of the objection, or 
to permit its further use ; that is, that the Colonization So- 
ciety does not itself engage in the work of emancipation? 
urging the duty of immediate abolition. This truly is to 
object that one great and good institution, which, with great 
sacrifice, zeal, perseverance, and success, pursues a great 
and worthy object, is not another institution, aye, quite an- 
other thing, which it never professed to be. Why may not 
the same be objected to all Missionary Associations, Educa- 
tion Societies, Bible Societies, Tract Societies, &:c. that their 
professed object and direct aim is not abolition ? They are 
formed for the accomplishment of great and good objects ; 
but they have nothing to do with an interference in the do- 
mestic relations which they find existing in our country. 
They would send the gospel to all, without distinction of 
color, that are perishing for lack of vision — they would assist 
in raising up and qualifying the pious and self-denying to 
preach the everlasting gospel to a world that lieth in wick- 
edness — they would put into the hands of every son and 
daughter of Adam the word of life — they would scatter 
abroad by every proper means that light which may guide 
in the paths of peace and lead to holiness, happiness, and 
heaven ; but they have each their distinct object in view, 
whilst they are but several parts of one great system of 
Christian benevolence. The American Colonization Socie- 
ty aims, as one branch of the great system of that benevo- 
lence which the Spirit of God has awakened in Christendom, 
to open an asylum for the oppressed in our land, encourag- 
ing voluntary emancipation, and to put an end to the slave- 
trade and the oppression of Africa by planting Christian co- 
lonies upon her shores. Is not the object great and good? 
Is it reasonable to oppose a good object because, forsooth, it 



300 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 



All good associations have not the same object. 



is not another good object ? Why should so much opposi- 
tion centre upon colonization ? 

' Those who constitute the Anti-slavery and Colonization 
Societies, I may confidently say, without at all approving of 
all the principles of the former, much less of all their lan- 
guage and measures, are agreed for the most part, in their 
views of slavery as a great evil, and in respect to the desira- 
bleness of its termination ; and disagree in respect to the best 
and proper and most effectual means by which, under all the 
circumstances, its extinction shall be consummated. AVith 
an honest difference of opinion on this subject, surely each 
may move under its own banner without molestation of the 
other, each in its own sphere, at its own proper work : in 
the use of ail proper means, and ultimately, indulging the 
spirit of kindness and love, and pursuing lawful and honor- 
able measures, they may join together in the celebration of a 
glorious triumph.' 

* I trust, Pa,' said C, ' that bright days are yet before us, 
and that great and happy results will crown the efforts of the 
true friends of Africa. I certainly do not see how any can 
oppose the colonization cause, nor yet, indeed, how they 
can refuse to sustain its efforts.' 

' Should the cause of colonization fail,' said Mr. L., 
' those efforts which have hitherto been crowned with such 
signal success being discouraged, or through opposition ren- 
dered fruitless, I am sure that the fond hopes of many a pa- 
triot — the devout prayers of many a Christian — the awaken- 
ed sensibilities of many a master — and the delighted visions 
of many a slave — will be most sadly disappointed. 

' Suppose, for a moment, this to be : — the American Colo- 
nization Society has opened an asylum for the oppressed — 
she points to a luxuriant soil, to a genial climate — with gra- 
titude, she tells how God has turned the hearts of the heathen 



PLEA FOR AFRICA. 301 



It will prosper — the cause is of God. 



towards ihe colony — thousands press upon her anxious to 
depart to the land of their fathers — masters are ready to 
permit thousands more to swell their numbers — and she 
calls to us to help Africa, to help America. The voice of 
opposition and bitter reproach is heard ! Some fold their 
arms with listless unconcern — others are disheartened and 
cease from their wonted benevolence — and the opposition 
triumphs ! That wisdom and philanthropy which have been 
successfully exerted in devising the plan which has caused 
this hitherto soul-cheering progress in the cause of liberty, 
humanity, and religion, and in unfolding the resources for 
its final accomplishment, has all been in vain ! That terri- 
tory, so extensive, so salubrious, so fertile, must be yielded 
again to savage beasts of prey — those flourishing towns, fair 
villages, peaceful habitations, must be no longer tenanted by 
a happy new-born race of freemen — those farms must be laid 
waste — that commerce must close — those lights of religion 
and science, churches and schools, must be extinguished — 
those banners of freedom, and those impregnable fortresses 
over which they wave, and that free republican government 
and the press which vindicates the righteous cause, must 
cease — those nearly 5,000 souls charmed with a Pisgah 
view of promised blessings of learning, freedom, and reli- 
gion, must be exiled from their schools, their temples of jus- 
tice, their churches dedicated to God, and from all they now 
hold dear — and Afric's dreary coast must again reverberate 
the deafening yell of despair wrung from many an agonized 
heart ! Would this be a blessing? or, say, would it be an 
awful CALAMITY? A Calamity? Why, but because the Co- 
lonization Society, by the blessing of God, has efl^ected this 

GREAT GOOD ? 

' And now, may this Society, which has been enabled to 
do so much, and whose prospects are so cheering, be per- 
mitted to go on with more than arithmetical progression in 

B b 



302 PLEA FOR AFRICA. 

The cause is of God. 

its work of mercy. It will, I am confident, never cause to 
humanity a tear ; it may, and I doubt not, will give joy and 
happiness to millions ! Shall it not live? — shall it not be 
permitted to prosper ? It is preparing the way for the final 
REDEMPTION of Afnctt, and for the universal sway of the 
KINGDOM OF THE LoRD Jesus ! Who wHl presiime to stay 
its progress ? To detach from its holy influence is treason 

TO OUR COUNTRY MOST UNMERCIFUL TO AFRICA SACRI- 
LEGE IN THE VIEW OF HEAVEN ! But to aid this cause, is 

HIGH HONOR A MOST DISTINGUISHED PRIVILEGE !' 



APPENDIX. 



EARLY AND DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS OF 
COLONIZATION. 



In the progress of the foregoing Conversations, particular 
reference has been made to several of the early and distin- 
guished friends of African Colonization : the author is sen- 
sible that in an attempt to do justice to some, he may by 
omission seem to do injustice to others. He cannot, how- 
ever refrain from a passing tribute, before these sheets pass 
from the press, as an acknowledgment of the valuable ser- 
vices of a few among the noble friends of Africa, whose 
work is done on earth, but who have left a memorial behind 
them, and " shall be in everlasting remembrance." And first 
may be mentioned, with propriety, more particularly than 
before, 

The Rev. Robert Finley. 

To Mr. Finley, at that time resident at Basking Ridge, 
New-Jersey, is conceded by all, a great share in the honor 
of originating the American Colonization Society. For 
year?, this eminent Christian had viewed the condition of the 
free colored population of our country with sympathising in- 
terest, and '* the whole vigor of his intellect was aroused, 
to form plans for their relief." Among " the exiled children 
of Africa, this good man saw not merely the heirs to a tem- 



304 



APPENDIX, 



poral, but to an eternal existence ; not those possessing mere- 
ly the virtues of natural and social affection, but also capaci- 
ties for the high improvements and joys of an immortal 
state." Early in the year 1815, he expressed himself to a 
friend as follows: "The longer I live to see the wretched- 
ness of men, the more I admire the virtue of those who de- 
vise, and with patience labor to execute plans for the relief of 
the wretched. On this subject, the state of the free blacks, 
has very much occupied my mind. Their number increases 
greatly, and their wretchedness, as appears to me. Every 
thing connected with their condition, including their color, 
is against them ; nor is there much prospect that their state 
can ever be greatly meliorated, while they shall continue 
among us. Could not the rich and benevolent devise means 
to form a colony on some part of the coast of Africa, simi- 
lar to the one at Sierra Leone, which might gradually induce 
many free blacks to go and settle, devising for them the means 
of getting there, and of protection and support till they are 
established? Could they be sent back to Africa, a three- 
fold benefit would arise. We should be cleared of them ; 
we should send to Africa a population partly civilized and 
christianized for their benefit ; and our blacks themselves 
would be put in a better sitiiaiion. Think much upon this 
subject, and then please to write me when you have leisure." 
Mr. Finley was satisfied of the practicability and utility 
of the project, aud encouraged by the opinions of others, 
" resolved to make a great efTott to carry his benevolent 
views into effect. * * In making preparatory arrange- 
ments, he spent a considerable part of the fall of 1816," 
and, " determined to test the popularity, and in some mea- 
sure the praclicabiliiy of the whole system," he at length in- 
troduced the subject to public notice in the city of Washing- 
ton. For this purpose, he visited several members of Con- 
gress, the Presitient, the heads of Department, and others. 
His conversation and zeal is said to have done much in ar- 



APPENDIX. 305 

resting attention to the subject, and conciliating many who 
at first appeared opposed. He proposed a special season of 
prayer in reference to the object, and several pious persons 
met him for the purpose of spending an hour in such an ex- 
ercise. When told that some were incredulous, and that 
some ridiculed the plan proposed, he replied, " I know this 
scheme is from God." 

Having disinterestedly and perseveringly prosecuted the 
great object of his desire, and performed a conspicuous part 
in the organization of the Society, he was soon called from 
his Christian labors on earth, to his reward in heaven. His 
name stood enrolled among the Vice-Presidents of the insti- 
tution — but his work is done ; and upon the foundation 
which he laid, others are called by the providence of God to 
build. 

Ja>ies Madison, 

tlie profound statesman, the accomplished scholar, the hum- 
ble Christian, who filled with so much honor the highest 
executive department of the nation, was the early friend of 
the Society, for many years one of its Vice-Presidents, its 
President at the time of his lamented death, and besides ap- 
proving its plans and lending to it the influence of his name, 
contributed largely to its funds, and remembered it also in 
his last will and testament, leaving to assist in its operations 
when he should be no more, the sum of $4,000 — even more 
valuable, it is hoped, in its moral effect, than because of the 
pecuniary amount. 

A Jefferson, Monroe, and Carroll, 

may also be mentioned as among the zealous advocates of 
colonization, the last of whom was elected President of the 
Society upon the demise of Judge Washington. 
B h 2 



303 afpexdix. 

The Hon. Bushrod Washington, 

the talents and virtues of whom are well known to have 
been of high character, and who having practised with re- 
])utation and success in the profession of which he was so 
bright an ornament, was appointed by the first President 
Adams, in 1797, as Judge of the Supreme Court of the 
United States — the highest judicial tribunal of our country, 
was also the Society's early friend. Of this Society, he be- 
came the President at its origin, and ever felt much interest 
in its success. He gave much of his time and thoughts to 
the advancement of its designs, and was liberal in his dona- 
tions. His views of the Society and its operations, are ex- 
hibited in an impressive manner, in an address which he de- 
livered at the first annual meeting of the Society. The fol- 
lowing is an extract : " In the magnificent plans now carry- 
ing on for the improvement and happiness of mankind, in 
many parts of the M'orld, we cannot but discern the interpo- 
sition of that Almighty power, who alone could inspire and 
crown with success these great purposes. But amongst 
them all, there is perhaps none upon which we may more 
confidently implore the blessing of heaven, than that in which 
we are now associated. Whether we consider the grandeur 
of the object and the wide sphere of philanthropy which it 
embraces ; or whether we view the present state of its pro-^ 
gress under the auspices of this Society, and under the ob- 
stacles which might have been expected from the cupidity 
of many, we may discover in each a certain pledge that the 
same benignant hand which has made these preparatory 
arrangements, will crown our eflforts with success. Having, 
therefore, these motives of piety to consecrate and strengthen 
the powerful considerations which a wise policy suggests,. 
we may, I trust, confidently rely upon the liberal exertions 
of the public for the necessary means of efl'ecting this highly 
interesting object.'* Nor was he at all discouraged by the 
o<bstacles which it was necessary to encounter in the further 



APPENDIX. 307 

prosecution of this good enterprise, or by the prospect of the 
greatness of the work which he saw was to be done. In a 
subsequent address, he says, " If much yet remains to be 
done, we may nevertheless look back with satisfaction upon 
the work which has been accomplished ; and may, I trust, 
without presumption, indulge the hope that the time is not 
far distant, when, by means of those for Avhose happiness 
we are laboring, Africa will participate in the inestimable 
blessings which result from civilization, a knowledge of the 
arts, and, above all, of the pure doctrines of the Christian 
religion." 

Chief Justice Marshall 

also was a distinguished friend of colonization. The Colo- 
nization Herald has said, on noticing his lamented death, 
" It is not of the statesman or the judge that we would 
speak. Our humble tribute is paid to the early and stead- 
fast friend of African Colonization, the oldest Vice-President 
of the American Colonization Society, and the patron of our 
own. Surrounded from his birth by a slave population, he 
knew its evils, and as a patriot, a philanthropist, and a 
Christian, was sincerely desirous of doing all in his power 
to promote the welfare of his country, and render justice to 
the oppressed slave. His clear mind saw the difficulties of 
the subject, and the necessity of removing by degrees an 
evil which had grown too mighty to be forcibly overthrown 
without spreading devastation through the land. He saw 
that the sudden emancipation of the slaves of the southern 
States, was morally impracticable, not only by the municipal 
law which forbade it, but by the still stronger law of nature, 
which declared it cruel and unjust, both to the masters and 
the slaves, to cast them forth unprotected and unprepared 
for their new condition. In the plan of colonization he saw 
the means of opening a door by which the oppressed may 
go free> with the prospect of attaining comfort and happi^ 



308 APPENmx. 

ness, and vindicating their equal participation in the dignity 
of manhood. He was therefore among the earliest promoters 
of the American Colonization Society, and to his latest breath 
continued its steadfast friend. He generally attended the 
annual meetings of the society ; and, as the oldest Vice-Pre- 
sident, frequently presided. He was a liberal contributor to 
its funds, and always manifested a lively interest in its wel- 
fare. One of the latest acts of his life was to contribute 
largely toward fitting out an expedition with colonists from 
Norfolk ; and even in his last illness, though forbidden by 
his physicians to speak much, he showed an unabated zeal 
in the cause. We mourn his loss. But we may still ap- 
peal with confidence and satisfaction to his example, and 
when the enemies of colonization attempt to brand our so- 
ciety with ignominy, and charge its friends with hypocrisy, 
and cruelty, and oppression, we may with honest pride 
repel the charge, and say it is the cause which won the ap- 
probation and secured the prayers and the services of John 
Marshall." 

In this connexion it is highly proper to mention also and 
record the name of that venerable man, who, for many years, 
as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Colonization Society, 
and in various ways, contributed much to the advancement 
of the cause and the best interests of an oppressed race. 

The Rt. Rev. William White, D. D. 

Within the short space of about one year, a mournful 
blank was left in the list of the officers of the Parent So- 
ciety, by the translation of its illustrious President, James 
Madison, and from among its Vice-Presidents, the late 
Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, and 
last, the venerable Bishop White, 



nomen clarum et venerabile I 



These distinguished names were also stricken by the hand^ 



APPENDIX. 309 

of death from the list of ' Patrons of the Young Men's Colo- 
nization Society of Pennsylvania.' It was not many months 
before his death, that the lamented Bishop, having braved, 
at the age of fourscore and eight, the inclemency of a stormy, 
snowy night, was seen presiding at the anniversary of a Co- 
lonization Society. 

Robert Ralston 

of Philadelphia, was another Vice-President of the Parent 
Society, and distinguished friend of Africa, whose name was 
greatly respected, and who closed his earthly pilgrimage, 
honored and lamented, in the ripeness of a good old age. 

Another early friend of colonization, was 

Elias Boudinot Caldwell, Esq. 

of Washington, first Secretary of the Society, present at its 
organization, and justly classed with Finley, Mills, and Gen. 
Mercer, as one of the most efficient projectors and promoters 
of the institution. His Christian principles and works are 
his best eulogium. The African Repository contains this 
notice of his death and tribute to his memory: — "Having 
taken a very distinguished part in the formation of the So- 
ciety, having carefully investigated its claims, and prepared 
himself for the obstacles which he saw to be inevitable in its 
progress, and especially having committed the cause to God, 
he was not disconcerted by misfortunes, nor discouraged by 
the calamities of its earliest history. He recollected that the 
events connected with the infancy of almost all colonies are 
analogous to those which have occurred in our own, and that 
they prove rather that experience is requisite to success, than 
that success is impossible. To no individual in the country 
was the colony more indebted for aid and success during the 
months of its greatest peril and distress ; and while his 
strength enabled him to act, none was more earnest in exer- 
tions for its prospei-ity. Often indeed did his zeal for others 



310 



APPENDIX. 



render him forgetful of himself, and his feeble frame feel the 
debilitating effects of excessive mental exertion. Near the 
conclusion of his life, the ordinary affairs of the world ap- 
peared to lose their power to affect him, and his faith fixed 
itself upon the things which are unseen and eternal. Per- 
fection with God was the object of his supreme desire and 
highest hope. His anticipations of immortality, however, 
could not diminish his affection for the cause of humanity 
and of God on earth. A few days before his death, he ad- 
dressed to a friend this note, " The Lord hath given me 

THE DESIRE OF MY HEART RESPECTING AfRICA. FaREWELL." 

Blessed is his memory, and great his reward." 

The Board, desirous to perpetuate in Africa the name of 
this benefactor of Liberia, directed that the name of Cald- 
well be given to the first settlement or town established by 
the colony. 

William Henry Fitzhugh, 

of Virginia, was a warm and early friend of the Liberia co- 
lony, and for several successive years one of the Vice-Presi- 
dents of the American Colonization Society, the value and 
importance of which institution he ably set forth in a series 
of essays under the signature of Opimus. Descended from 
two of the most ancient and respectable families of Virginia, 
and by education, talents, fortune, and character, peculiarly 
fitted for eminent usefulness, his death was lamented as a 
public loss ; and in the general grief which it occasioned the 
American Colonization Society was called to bear a full 
share. At the time of his death, Mr. Fitzhugh was em- 
ployed in plans for bettering the moral condition of his 
slaves, with the hope of preparing them for a different 
sphere of action. His designs towards them are sufficiently 
indicated by his will, enjoining their freedom under certain 
conditions. 

One who was intimately acquainted with liim has said, 



APPENDIX. 311 

'* Mr. Fitzhugh was no ordinary man. His highly gifted 
and well-balanced mind, improved and polished by the best 
education, by self-discipline, and by constant intercourse with 
cultivated and refined society, controlled in its operations by 
sentiments just, honorable, magnanimous, rendered him a 
model of the virtues most admired in private and in public 
life. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, who have shared in the 
hospitalities of Ravensworth will bear testimony to the no- 
bleness of his disposition, the urbanity of his manners, and 
to those attractive powers of conversation which drew around 
him, as by magic, a numerous circle of friends, who found 
that to know was to love him ; and that every successive in- 
terview increased the strength of their attachment. As a 
member of the Virginia House of Delegates, of the Senate, 
and of the Convention, he filled the high expectation of his 
friends, and stood acknowledged by all an able, honorable, 
and eloquent statesman. While the reputation of Virginia 
was dear to his heart, while he cherished towards her charac- 
ter and her interest, even a filial aflJection, he looked abroad 
upon the Union with patriotic pride, and rejoiced in the ho- 
nors and prospects of this glorious national republic. Nor 
were his desires for the improvement of mankind confined 
within the limits of his country. He was a philanthropist ; 
and felt that human beings, whatever may be their country, 
circumstances, or complexion, were related to him by the 
ties of a common nature, and must not be excluded from his 
regards. * * His example survives him. And while friend- 
ship and aflfection shed their tears upon his grave ; while 
honor, genius, patriotism, and philanthropy gather around it 
in silent grief, may his example, like an oracle from the 
abodes of the departed, give confidence and energy to virtue, 
and perpetuate its influence to relieve the miseries, and to 
improve and exalt the character of mankind." 

We must notice another who greatly served the interesta 
of colonization in our own country, 



312 APPENDIX. 

Thomas Smith Grimke, 

of Charleston, S. C. By the death of this distinguished 
Christian, scholar and civilian, in 1834, the Colonization So- 
ciety was deprived of one of its Vice-Presidents and most 
efficient members, and the cause of Africa of a liberal and 
devoted friend. It has been well said of Mr. Grimke that 
he was no ordinary man, either in his intellectual or moral 
endowments. In the legal profession pre-eminent, a states- 
man of enlarged views and purity of motive, his patriotism 
a part of his piety, always aiming at the approbation of 
heaven, he was qualified for distinguished usefulness. His 
memory is blessed — his example lives. 



Nor should we pass by unnoticed, the names of others, 
besides the sainted Ashmun and Mills, who left their native 
land, aspiring to serve this good cause more effectually in 
Africa. We may mention, first, 

The Rev. Lott Carey. 

Among the names of those who have devoted themselves 
to the great work of founding a colony in Liberia, and who 
shared the cares and toils and privations consequent upon 
the first attempt, stands conspicuous that of the Rev. Lott 
Carey, for some time the Vice-agent of the colony. Mr. 
Carey, as appears by an obituary of him in the 5th volume 
of the Repository, from which this tribute is chiefly quoted, 
was born a slave, near Richmond, Virginia. He was early 
hired out as a common laborer in that city, where, for some 
years, he remained, entirely regardless of religion, and much 
addicted to profane and vicious habits. Convinced of the 
misery of a sinful state, and brought to true repentance be- 
fore God, in 1807 he professed faith in the Saviour, and be- 



AP:?END1X. 313 

came a member of the Baptist Church. His father was a 
pious and much respected member of the same church, and 
his mother died giving evidence that she had relied for sal- 
vation upon the Son of God. He was their only child, and 
though he had no early instruction from books, the admoni- 
tions and prayers of his illiterate parents, it is supposed, 
laid the foundation for his future usefulness. " A strong 
desire to be able to read was excited in his mind by a ser- 
mon to which he attended soon after his conversion, and 
which related to our Lord's interview with Nicodemus ; 
and having obtained a Testament he commenced reading his 
letters, by trying to read the chapter in which this interview 
is recorded. He received some instruction, though he never 
attended a regular school. Such, however, was his diligence 
and perseverance that he overcame all obstacles, and acquir- 
ed not only the art of reading, but of writing also. Shortly 
after the death of his first wife in 1813, he ransomed him- 
self and two children for $850, a sum which he had obtained 
by his singular ability and fidelity in managing the concerns 
of a tobacco warehouse. Of the real value of his services 
there, it has been remarked, no one but a dealer in tobacco 
can form an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogs- 
heads that were committed to his charge, he could produce 
any one the instant it Avas called for ; and the shipments 
were made with promptness and correctness, such as no per- 
son, white or black, has equalled in the same situation. It 
is said that while employed at the warehouse, he often de- 
voted his leisure time to reading, and that a gentleman on 
one occasion taking up a book which he had left for a few 
moments, found it to be ' Smith's Wealth of Nations.' As 
early as the year 1815, he began to feel a special interest in 
the cause of African Missions, and contributed probably more 
than any other person in giving origin and character to the 
African Missionary Society established during that year in 
Richmond, and which, for many years collected and appro- 

cc 



314 APPENDIX. 

priated annually to the cause of Christianity in Africa, from 
one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars. His bene- 
volence was practical ; and whenever and wherever good 
objects were to be efiected, he was ready to lend his aid. 
He became a preacher several years before he left this coun- 
irv, and generally engaged in this service every Sabbath 
anion o" the colored people on plantations a few miles from 
Richmond. A correspondent, from whom we have already 
quoted, observes, * In preaching, notwithstanding his gram- 
matical inaccuracies, he was often truly eloquent. He had 
derived almost nothing from the schools, and his manner 
was, of course unpolished, but his ideas would sometimes 
burst upon you in their native solemnity, and awaken deeper 
feelings than the most polished but less original and inarti- 
ficial discourse.' A distinguished minister of the Presby- 
terian church said to the writer, * A sermon which I heard 
from Mr. Carey, shortly before he sailed for Africa, was the 
best extemporaneous sermon I ever heard. It contained 
more original and impressive thoughts, some of which are 
distinct in my memory, and never can be forgotten.' 

" Mr. Carey was among the earliest emigrants to Africa. 
For some time before his departure he had sustained the 
oflice of Pastor of a Baptist Church of colored persons in 
Richmond, embracing nearly eight hundred members, re- 
ceived from it a liberal support, and enjoyed its confidence 
and afi*ection. When an intelligent minister of the same 
church inquired why he could determine to quit a station of 
so much comfort and usefulness, to encounter the dangers 
of an African climate, and hazard every thing to plant a 
colony on a distant heathen shore ? his reply was to this 
efi'ect, ' I am an African, and in this country, however meri- 
torious ray conduct and respectable my character, I cannot 
receive the credit due to either. I wish to go to a country 
where I shall be estimated by my merits, not by my com- 
plexion; and I feel bound to labor for my suffering race,' 



APPENT)IX. 315 

He seemed to have imbibed the sentiment of Paui; and to 
have great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart £br 
his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh. At the 
close of his farewell sermon in the First Baptist Meeting- 
house in Richmond, he remarked in snbstance as follows : — 
' I am about to leave you, and expect to see your faces no 
more. I long to preach to the poor Africans the way of life 
and salvation. I don't know what may befall me, whether 
I may find a grave in the ocean or amonor the savage men, 
or more savage wild beasts on the coast of Africa : nor am 
I anxious what may become of me. I feel it my duty to go ; 
and I very much fear that many of those who preach the 
gospel in this country, will blush when the Saviour calls 
them to give an account of their labors in his cause, and tells 
them, * I commanded you to go into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature ;' (and with the most forcible 
emphasis he exclaimed^ the Saviour may ask, Where have 
you been ? what have you been doing ? Have you endeavor- 
ed to the utmost of your ability to fulfil the commands I 
gave you, or have you sought your ovm gratification and 
your own ease regardless of my commands V 

" On his arrival in Africa he saw before him a wide and 
interesting field, demanding various and energetic talents, 
and the most devoted piety. His intellecraal ability, firm- 
ness of purpose, unbending integrity, correct judgment, and 
disinterested benevolence, soon placed him in a conspicuous 
station, and gave him wide and commanding influence 
Though naturally dif&dent and retiring, his worth was too 
evident to allow of his continuing in obscurity. It is well 
known that great difficulties were encountered in fotmding a 
settlement at Cape Moniserado. So appalling were the cir- 
cumstances of the first settlers, that soon after they had takea 
possession of the cape it was proposed that they should re- 
move to Sierra Leone. The resolution of 31r. Carey was 
not to be shaken; he determined to siav, and his decision 



316 APPENDIX. 

had great effect in persuading others to imitate his example. 
During the war with the native tribes, in November and De- 
cember, 1822, he proved to be one of the bravest of men, 
and lent his well-directed and vigorous support to the mea- 
sures of Mr. Ashmun during that memorable defence of the 
colony. It was to him that Mr. Ashmun was principally- 
indebted for assistance in rallying the broken forces of the 
colony at a moment when fifteen hundred of the exasperated 
natives were rushing on to exterminate the settlement. In 
one of his letters he compares the little exposed company on 
Cape Montserado at that time, to the Jews, who, in rebuild- 
ing their city, ' grasped a weapon in one hand, while they 
labored with the other,' but adds emphatically, ' there never 
has been an hour or a minute, no, not even when the balls 
were flying around my head, when I could wish myself 
again in America.' At this early period of the colony the 
emigrants were peculiarly exposed ; the want of adequate 
medical attentions, and the scantiness of their supplies, sub- 
jected them to severe and complicated sufferings. To re- 
lieve, if possible, these sufferings, Mr. Carey availed himself 
of all information in his power, concerning the diseases of 
the climate, made liberal sacrifices of his property to assist 
the poor and distressed, and devoted his time almost exclu- 
sively to the destitute, the sick, and the afilicted. He ap- 
peared to realize the greatness of the work in which he had 
engaged, and to be animated by a noble spirit of zeal and re- 
solution in the cause of his afflicted and perishing brethren. 
His services as physician were invaluable, and were for a 
long time rendered without hope of reward. 

" He was elected in September, 1826, to the Vice-agency 
of the colony, and discharged the duties of that important 
office until his death. In his good sense, moral worth, pub- 
lic spirit, courage, resolution, and decision, the colonial 
agent had perfect confidence. He knew that in times of 
difficulty or danger, reliance might be placed upon the 



APPENDIX. 317 

energy and efficiency of Mr. Carey. When compelled in 
the early part of 1828 to leave the colony, Mr. Ashmun 
committed the administration of the colonial affairs into his 
hands. But amid his multiplied cares and efforts for the co- 
lony he never forgot or neglected to promote the objects of 
the African Missionary Society, for which he had long 
cherished the strongest attachment. His great object in 
emigrating to Africa was to extend the power and blessings 
of the Christian religion. Before his departure from Rich- 
mond, a little church of about half a dozen members was 
formed by himself and those who were to accompany him. 
He became the pastor of this church in Africa, and saw its 
numbers greatly increased. Most earnestly did he seek ac- 
cess to the native tribes, and endeavor to instruct them in 
the doctrines and duties of that religion which in his own 
case had proved so powerful to purify, exalt, and save. In 
one or two instances of hopeful conversion from heathenism, 
he greatly rejoiced ; and many of his latest and most anxious 
thoughts were directed to the establishment of native schools 
in the interior. One such school, distant seventy miles from 
Monrovia, and of great promise, was established through his 
agency about a year before his death, and patronized and 
superintended by him until that mournful event. On this 
subject, by his many valuable communications to the Mis- 
sionary Board, 'he being dead yet speaketh' in language 
which must affect the heart of every true Christian disciple. 
" For six months after the first departure of Mr. Ashmun 
from the colony, Mr. Carey stood at its head, and conducted 
himself with such energy and wisdom as to do honor to his 
previous reputation, and fix the seal upon his enviable fame. 
On his death-bed, Mr. Ashmun urged that Mr. Carey should 
be permanently appointed to conduct the affairs of the colo- 
ny, expressing his perfect confidence in his integrity and 
ability for that great work. The tidings of Mr. Ashmun's 
death had not reached the colony until after the decease of 

c c 2 



318 APPENDIX. 

Mr. Carey. How unexpected, how interesting, how affect- 
ing the meeting of these two individuals, (so long united in 
Christian fellowship, in benevolent and arduous labors,) in 
the world of glory and immortality ! 

" It has been well said of Mr. Carey, that ' he was one of 
nature's noblemen ;' and had he possessed the advantages of 
education, few men of his age would have excelled him in 
knowledge or genius. The features and complexion of Mr. 
Carey were altogether African. He was diffident, and 
showed no disposition to push himself into notice. His 
words were few, simple, direct and appropriate. His con- 
versation indicated rapidity and clearness of thought, and an 
ability to comprehend the great and variously-related princi- 
ples of religion and government. To found a Christian co- 
lony which might prove a blessed asylum to his degraded 
brethren in America and enlighten and regenerate Africa, 
was, in his view, an object with which no temporal good, 
not even life, could be compared. The strongest sympathies 
of his nature were excited in behalf of his unfortunate people, 
and the divine promise cheered and encouraged him in his 
labors for their improvement and salvation. A main pillar 
in the society and church of Liberia, the memorial of his 
worth shall never perish. It shall stand in clearer light 
when every chain is broken, and Christianity shall have as- 
sumed her sway over the millions of Africa." 

The following lines " to the memory" of Mr. Carey, ap- 
peared in the African Repository soon after his death, from 
an anonymous correspondent, with the signature of V. — 

" Sliall none record the honor'd name 

Of Afric's favor'd son, 
Or twine the deathless wreath of fame 

For him whose race is run ? 
While angels crown the saint above, 
Has earth no voice to own her love ? 



APPENDIX. 319 

Where'er the Patriot rests his head 

A stately pile appears ; 
While warrior's sleep on glory's bed, 

Beneath a nation's tears; 
And shall no tribute rise to thee, 
Thou fearless friend of liberty? 

Yes, Afric's sunny skies have gleam'd 

On many a scene sublime ; 
But more than hope has ever dream'd 

Is destin'd for that clime. 
The chain shall burst, the slave be free. 
And millions bless thy memory. 

Thy meed shall be a nation's love ! 

Thy praise, the freeman's song ! 
And in thy star-wreath'd home above 

Thou may'st the theme prolong ; 
For hymns of praise from Afric's plains 
Shall mingle with seraphic strains." 

Dr. Richard Randall, 

who generously proffered his services in the cause of colo- 
nization and of Africa, and to whom was therefore entrusted 
the honorable and responsible station made vacant by the 
decease of the lamented Ashmun, was born at Annapolis, 
Md. ; received his education at St. John's College, and took 
his degree as Doctor of Medicine in Philadelphia. From a 
sphere of usefulness in his profession in Washington City, 
he was called to the Professorship of Chemistry in the Me- 
dical Department of Columbia College. He was also an 
able and efficient member of the Board of Managers of the 
Colonization Society. But his expansive benevolence and 
the warm interest which he took in the welfare of the 
Liberia colony, would not allow of his enjoying longer the 
flattering prospects which were before him in America. An 
intimate friend of Dr. Randall has said, " The magnitude of 
the object of the Colonization Society, the attained success, 
the illimitable prospects for usefulness which the scheme 
displayed, soon engaged the feelings of his generous and 



320 APPENDIX. 

benevolent mind. -^ * He was a generous, kind, noble- 
hearted man." He once thought unfavorably of the So- 
ciety, the colony, and its objects; but "his mind was en- 
lightened," and he resolved to devote his best energies to 
the glorious cause. As a member of the Board of Mana- 
gers at Washington, he was discriminating, judicious, re- 
solute, and benevolent, and became so intimately acquainted 
with all that relates to the object of the cause, that great 
respect was due to his decisions. When Ashmun died, Dr. 
Randall was deeply affected, fully sensible of the shock 
which the institution had sustained. " The workings of 
his generous mind" could not long be concealed. He hesi- 
tated ; but " his hesitation was the result of a diffidence of 
his own powers. Admonished of his danger, and implored 
by his friends to remain in the flattering career which he 
had commenced," his reply was decided, that " in doing his 
duty he disregarded his hfe — that with his feelings and pur- 
pose, he could readily exchange the endearing intercourse 
of relations, the alluring pleasures of refined society, the pro- 
mised success of professional exertion, for the humble duty 
of promoting the happiness of the poor negroes in Africa, 
and be happy in so doing." 

Dr. John Wallace Anderson, 

of Maryland, graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in 
1823, after being settled as a practising physician, resolved 
that it was his duty to devote himself to the cause of African 
colonization, by serving, in his professional character, among 
the colonists of Liberia. He accordingly left behind him 
the attractions of a delightful home, and witli that sentiment 
deep in his heart, which, when leaving this world, he di- 
rected should be inscribed on his tombstone, " Jesus, for 
thee I live, for thee I die," he committed himself to the di- 
rection of a wise and good Providence, and planted himself 
on the shores of Liberia. Useful in his profession, and dis- 



APPENDIX. 321 

tingiiished by unremitting efforts to promote the best good 
of the infant colony, he was called to the agency of the 
colony during the absence of Dr. Mechlin. His efforts laid 
him upon the bed of sickness ; there, although he could no 
more serve the colony as he had been wont to do, his re- 
maining breath was spent in fervent prayer for its success, 
until, in a few days from his attack, with entire resignation 
to the Divine will, and with unshaken and triumphant con- 
fidence in the glorious Saviour, he was called to pass the 
valley and shadow of death. One who was with him when 
he died, has remarked, " Well might I have said, when Dr. 
Anderson breathed his last. Come and see how a Chris- 
tian can die." He is said to have evidenced " a remarkable 
devotion to the cause of God and man," and to have been 
possessed of " a spirit so mild, retiring, disinterested and 
unwavering, as at once to win the affections and deeply im- 
press the heart" of all who became acquainted with him. 

The Rev. Melville B. Cox 

is another, whdse name will go down to many generations 
as one of Africa's early and faithful friends. Mr. Cox went 
out to Liberia under the direction of the Methodist Mission- 
ary Society, "to promote the cause of Christianity in Li- 
beria, and among the African tribes in its vicinity." He is 
represented as a minister of great sincerity and zeal in the 
cause of Christ, and of distinguished abilities. In reference 
to his mission, he said before his departure, " I will have 
nothing to do with worldly gain in any form. If God per- 
mits me to go, it shall be to preach the gospel." Devoted 
to this work of piety and mercy himself, he was greatly 
anxious to enlist the feelings of others. "I would," said 
he, " that our colored friends felt on this subject as they 
should. * * When was there ever such a door opened ? 
* * We cannot but feel. Africa calls us with millions of 
voices. She pleads in the strong wailings of suffering hu- 



322 . APPENDIX. 

manity. She speaks in the accents of dying spirits * perish- 
ing for lack of knowledge.' Will not her sons in America 
hear ? O that God would move their hearts to this work. 
Money and means are at their command — public sympathy 
is deeply enlisted in their favor. Will they still refuse ? 
God pity them. And may he pity those who have sown 
the seeds of such deep-rooted prejudices against Liberia; 
and may he pity us who have so long enslaved intellect as 
to have rendered it almost entirely insensible to moral and 
religious enterprise." Some friend of humanity, who also 
knew how to appreciate the worth of this excellent mis- 
sionary now fallen a martyr to the interests of Africa, has 
embalmed his memory in these lines, entitled " the Grave 
of Cox." 



"From Niger's dubious billow, 

From Gambia's silver wave. 
Where rests, on death's cold pillow, 

The tenant of the grave, 
We hear a voice of weeping. 

Like low-toned lutes at night, 
In plaintive echoes sweeping 

Up Mesurado's height. 

The palm-tree o'er him waving, 

The grass above his head. 
The stream his clay-couch laving, 

All — all proclaim him dead ; 
Dead I but alive in glory, 

A conqueror at rest ; 
Embalmed in sacred stor\'. 

And crowned amidst the blest. 

A martyr's grave encloses 

His wearied frame at last, 
Perfum'd with heaven's sweet roses, 

On his dear bosom cast ; 
And Afric's sons deploring 

Their champion laid low, 
Like many waters roaring. 

Unbosom all their wo. 



APPENDIX. 323 



The moon's lone chain of mountains, 

The plain where Carthage stood, 
Jugurtha's ancient Pjuntains, 

And Teerabo's palmy wood. 
Are wild with notes of sorrow. 

Above their sainted friend, 
To whom there comes no morrow, 

But glory without end." 



It has been suggested by a judicious friend, that " in form- 
ing an opinion upon a subject of such vast importance to the 
best interests of our country and the very existence of the 
Union, as the negro question, it is well to look at the array 
of the great and the good, who have not only given the 
weight of their names, but have hallowed with their latest 
blessing the great cause they never ceased to love. The 
conscript fathers of the revolution, who laid the foundation 
of their country's greatness, who endured all the perils of the 
times that tried men's souls, and who showed that they 
knew how to appreciate the value of our happy union by 
mutual concession and a spirit of conciliation without which 
the blessings sought could not be secured to their posterity — 
these, almost to a man, were ardent colonizationists." 

It is also worthy of remark that those who have gone forth 
as pioneers in the noble cause of colonization, have embraced 
in their number some of the choicest spirits of the age. The 
leaders in this enterprise of humanity, patriotism, and bene- 
volence, have not been men of an inferior order of intellect, 
nor mere visionaries ; but of first rate minds, of enlarged 
views, sound judgment, great discretion, humble and unwa- 
vering piety, persevering zeal, entire devotion to the cause 
of God and the best interests of man. If a different opinion 
has prevailed, as it may, in some instances, it must be through 
want of proper information, and proper pains to obtain it. It 
is a remarkable fact that they who have been most efBcient 
in this good work, have so generally been those possessed 



324 APPENDIX. 

of pre-eminent qualifications — men who would have shone 
bright and been greatly honored remaining in their own na- 
tive land, but whose piety and benevolence, manifest to all, 
led them to forego the flattering prospects before them here, 
that they might serve God and their generation on the shores 
of Africa. 

Nor should this remark be wholly confined to those who 
as agents, sub-agents, physicians, or ministers of the gospel 
and missionaries of the cross, have gone forth in this good 
work. Among the colonists generally, has been an honor- 
able share of all that is ennobling to humanity. As speci- 
mens of the views and feelings and qualifications of many, 
we may find much that is honorable in their own deeds, and 
in the testimony of the disinterested. Take, as a specimen 
of the noble spirit and good judgment of not a few, the fol- 
lowing extract of a letter from a free man of color, then be- 
longing in Georgia, who sought an asylum in Africa in 1831. 
It need not be said after reading the extract, that he was 
highly esteemed for his intelligence and piety where he then 
lived. He writes to the Secretary of the Colonization So- 
ciety : 

*' I have always viewed the principle on which the So- 
ciety was grounded, as one of much policy, though I saw it 
was aided by a great deal of benevolence. And when view- 
ing my situation, with thousands of my colored brethren in 
the United States, who are in a similar situation, I have ofteu- 
wondered what prevented us from rising and with one voice, 
saying, we will accept the offer made us at the risk of sacri- 
ficing all the comforts that our present situation can afford 
us. I have often almost come to the conclusion that I would 
make the sacrifice, and have only been prevented by the un- 
favorable accounts of die climate. I have always heretofore, 
viewed it as a matter of temporal interest, but now I view it 
spiritually. According to the accounts from Liberia, it wants 
help, and such as I trust I could give, though ever so little. 



APPENDIX. 325 

I understand the branches of a wheelwright, and blacksmith, 
and carpenter ; I also have good ideas of machinery and other 
branches. I trust also, were I to go there, I would add one 
to the number of advocates for religion. I will thank you to 
inform me what things I should take for the comfort of my- 
self and family. I don't expect to go at the expense of the 
Society, and therefore hope to be allowed to take something 
more than those who do not defray their own expenses," 



On looking over the pages that have preceded, the remem- 
brance of other eminent friends of colonization among our 
countrymen who have also been distinguished by their sta- 
tion, talents, acquirements, and virtue, admonishes us of 
many omissions : Among the departed might have been 
mentioned the names of Wirt, Crawford, Lowndes, Judge 
Workman of Louisiana who contributed to the Society's 
funds 810,000, and otheis ; and among its surviving friends, 
(and long may they be spared to bless their country and the 
world,) might have been named, of civilians, without dis- 
tinction of party or locality, those bright lights of our land, 
Clay, Mercer, Webster, Frelinghuysen, Southard, Vroom, 
Cotton Smith, McLane, Porter, McKean, Everett, Butler, 
and others ; in the mercantile world, Gerard Ralston, Anson 
G. Phelps, Henry Sheldon, and others ; and among the 
clergy, Breckinridge, Proudfit, Gurley, Burgess, Bacon, 
Fisk, Milnor, DeWitt, and others ; but the limits assigned 
to this appendix forbid our pursuing this subject as the 
thoughts would lead. 



We should also advert, by acknowledgment, to the fact 
that 

Dd 



326 appendix. 

Colonization and Africa have found generous frieni>s 
among the fair sex. 

Our fair countrywomen, the author is happy to say, have 
not withheld the pleasing influence and encouragement of 
their good example and charities from this great and holy 
cause. Always ready to feel for the wretched, nor ever 
backward in efforts of benevolence when humanity calls, 
they have, in many instances, done themselves high honor 
by the aid which they have rendered to the cause of Africa 
and of colonization. Did the respect that is due to the re- 
tiring modesty of the sex not forbid it, it would be grateful 
to bear testimony to their disinterested benevolence, and re- 
cord the names of not a few, who, though their good works 
and alms' deeds may not be heralded by the trump of earthly 
fame, have truly a record on high. 

As an encouragement to others to " go, and do likewise," 
and as a just recognition of that moral influence which the 
ladies of our land, like ministering angels of love and mercy, 
may exert — often undervalued by themselves, but acknow- 
ledged by humanity and religion to beof unspeakable'worth — 
reference may be here made to a few instances of untiring 
friendship and devotion to the cause, as communicated in a 
note by Elliott Cresson, Esq. in answer to an inquiry touch- 
ing the extent of female benevolence in support of the free 
schools in Liberia. Omitting the names of individuals, and 
passing by some parts of the communication, Mr. Cresson 
writes as follows : 

" Colonization owes as much, perhaps, to female zeal and 
self-sacrificing devotion, as any benevolent enterprise of the 
age. In the infancy of the Society, when its friends were 
few and timid, and its enemies many and determined, the 

untiring efforts of Bishop M were most nobly seconded 

by his excellent sisters, the Misses M , who contributed 

very largely from their own restricted means, eliciting by 
their example and personal exertions, the co-operation of 



APPENDIX. 327 

thxeir friends, and finally dedicated most of their property by 
will, to sustaining this holy cause. The sisters-in-law of 
that devoted friend of Africa have never ceased from the per- 
formance of deeds of kindness towards her oppressed chil- 
dren. This has been manifested by liberal and frequent do- 
nations, by unwearied care over the moral and religious cul- 
ture of those entrusted to them by Providence, and recently, 
on the sailing of the first expedition for Bassa Cove, one of 

them, Mrs. P -, not only liberated fourteen choice slaves 

to aid the enterprise, and gave them an ample outfit, but ge- 
nerously added $500 to ensure them every thing necessary 
in their new home. 

" These noble examples were not lost on their friend and 

neighbor. Miss B , who in addition to the liberation of 

eleven slaves, (contributing nearly all her little property,) 
mortgaged the residue and raised $800, with which she pur- 
chased the freedom of the husbands of two of her women, 
who were held by persons in the vicinity. Nor was her 
strong affection for this degraded people stopped here. By 
devoting the proceeds of her needle, and the profits of her 
little dahy to their welfare, she has yearly increased the 
humble resources of the Society, and many a neighbor at 
her instance has pledged a head of young stock to the same 
purpose, so that at the year's end, the united tributes of these 
little rills have done much to swell the stream of benevolence. 
One sister, who recently died, made the freedom of a family 
now settled in Liberia, a parting request to her surviving re- 
latives. Mrs. W — — , of Mount Vernon, another sister, 
has lately sent an interesting and valuable family of slaves to 
Liberia, and at the same time made a handsome donation to 
the funds of the Pennsylvania Society, whose want of means 
alone prevented their fitting out another expedition to convey 
them and a number of other slaves now pressed upon the 
care of that Society by their benevolent owners, to Bassa 
Cove. 



328 APPENDIX. 

" Mrs. M , Mrs. B , and Mrs. C of Arling- 
ton, might be mentioned among many of the same circle, 
who have for years heroically devoted themselves to the 
task of instructing and evangelizing their own slaves, and 
those of their pious neighbors, and aiding in support of 
schools in Africa. Rarely have we listened to a more deeply 
interesting narrative than that of a clergyman recently on a 
visit in the South, who was present when the former of 
those ladies, now perfectly blind, on learning that her young- 
est and darling son was alone deterred from offering himself 
as a missionary for Africa by the fear that she would not 
bear the separation, called for her guide and waited on the 
venerable senior Bishop of that diocese, to assure him that 
however severe was this test of her faith, she could not but 
cheerfully resign him for the performance of a service so 
holy. 

*' The name of Miss M M will descend to pos- 
terity as one of the illustrious of the age. Descending from 
one of the most ancient and distinguished families of the 
South*, and brought up in the possession of all that wealth 
could bestow, this noble woman did not hesitate, on the 
death of her father, to liberate her own share of his slaves, 
together with such others as could be purchased ; and send- 
ing the young, the active and the vigorous, at her own cost, 
to Africa, she, one of the loveliest and most accomplished of 
her sex, converted the mansion of her ancestors into a board- 
ing school, and has for years devoted herself to the arduous 
duties of superintending it, that she might discharge the 
debt thus incurred, and sustain the * old and the worn out.' 
What a beautiful comment on the charge of our adversaries, 
that such only are the objects of the pretended benevolence 
of colonizationists ! It has been the privilege of the writer 
of this faint tribute to female worth, to visit Cedar Park 
Seminary at the period of its annual fair, when hundreds of 
the surrounding gentry assemble to enjoy the charming scene 



APPENDIX. 329 

presented by her fair charge, joyously displaying the fruits 
of the past year's industry, and devoting the proceeds of 
their skill and their taste to the cause of education in Libe- 
ria, by which they have already contributed upwards of $1100 
toward the proposed college at Bassa Cove. The venerable 
mansion — the natural features of the scene, almost unparal- 
leled for sylvan charms — the rich display of articles of uti- 
lity and beauty — the happy and animated groups engaged 
in the duties of the day, were aU highly attractive : but it 
must be confessed that all this was infinitely heightened, 
when, on approaching the white-headed little company of 
merry old negroes assembled beneath the ample shade of the 
monarchs that had for centuries spread their giant arms 
athwart the verdant lawn, and asking some questions touch- 
ing themselves and their absent descendants, they poured 
forth a torrent of blessings upon their ' good missis' for the 
benefits she had showered on ' them and theirs.' 

" Who can forget the spirit-stirring lays of the sweet 

singer of the north, Mrs. S , or her touching appeals 

for the dark-browed sons of Africa? To her discriminating 
judgment and patient care, do the earliest schools of Africa 
owe much for the selection and preparation of young co- 
lored females who subsequently became eminently useful 
as teachers. Or who but must revere the admirable patron 

of those schools — the venerable Friend, B S , of 

Philadelphia, who first planted and sustained them, and who 
has since presided over the Ladies' Liberia School Associa- 
tion, to which those schools gave rise, with untiring assi- 
duity and liberality, until many hundreds of the ofifspring of 
Africa now rejoice in the privileges of a Christian education ? 

" Many other bright names might be added to this hur- 
ried list of the early female friends of colonization ; but 
having already exceeded the limits I had proposed for an- 
swering the query of yesterday, permit me to close with 
that of the widow of the revered Finley, who, on advert- 

Dd2 



330 APPENDIX. 

ing to his love for Africa strong in death — added, 'one son 
is now there, the other is on the banks of the Mississippi 
pleading her cause — and if I possessed twenty, I would 
gladly dedicate them all to thejsame'holy cause.' " 



In another portion of this work reference has been made 
to distinguished 



•&" 



Friends of the cause in England. 

This reference might here be extended ; but we will close 
our notice of those who have dedicated their time, their ta- 
lents, their money, and their prayers to this great enter- 
prise, with a beautiful tribute to the merits of colonization, 
from the pen of the late Jonathan Hutchinson, one who 
enjoyed in a remarkable degree the love and veneration of 
his fellow Christians, and the respect of all who knew him. 
This extract is from testimony borne to the mission of one 
who visited England not long since to promote the views of 
the American Colonization Society.* 

"After a serious and deliberate consideration of the plan 
exhibited by my friend , for educating, chris- 
tianizing and instructing in the arts of civilized life, the 
emancipated slave ; and thus preparing him as a fit instru- 
ment for conferring similar benefits upon his countrymen in 
Africa — on this review I am led to the conclusion that it is 

♦"Hannah Kilham, who was a member of the Society of Friends in 
England, and well known for her great benevolence and ardent piety, 
visited Liberia in 1832. She thus expresses herself in a letter written while 
in the colony : 'This colony altogether presents quite a new scene of com- 
bined African and American interest. I cannot but hope and trust, that it 
IS the design of Infinite Goodness to prepare a home in this land for many 
who have been denied the full extent of privilege in the land of their birth, 
and that some, who are brought here but as a shelter and resource for them- 
selves, may, through the visitation of heavenly goodness in their own minds, 
and the farther leadings of Divine love, become ministers of the glad tidings 
of the gospel, to many who are now living in darkness, and the uhadow ol 
death.' " 



APPENDIX. 331 

the most intelligible in theory, the most efficient in practice, 
and the least expensive of any proposition on this important 
subject, that has hitherto met my observation. Should this 
scheme of pure benevolence be so far able to surmount the 
difficulties attending its course, as to produce the full amount 
of good of which it appears capable, I think it will ultimately 
prove to have been one of the greatest blessings ever be- 
stowed by a gracious Creator, through the instrumentality 
of man, upon suffering and degraded humanity. Under 
these impressions, I cannot but desire its success — and that 
every one, who with proper motives and qualifications, shall 
engage in the service of so noble a cause, may be aided by 
the sympathy and support of every friend of the human 
race ; and that he may also be favored in the prosecution 
of this great object, with assistance and protection from the 
universal Parent of the whole family of man, who is * God 
over all, blessed for ever !' 
*' Gedney, 8mo, 13, 1832." 



OBJECTIONS OF OPPOSERS. 

COLONIZATION UNITES SOME OF CONFLICTING VIEWS. 

It has been said by those that are opposed to the coloniza- 
tion scheme, that inasmuch as the Colonization Society 
has for its object simply the removal of the free people of 
color, with their own consent, to Africa, and is supported 
in this enterprise " by one class of people for one reason, 
and by other classes for other reasons," the action of the 
Society " being suited to the views of all," it is liable to 
great and serious objections. On the other hand, the friends 
of colonization think that the singleness and simplicity of its 
aim, give it great and manifest advantages. 



332 APPENDIX. 

What though its aim being one, and steadily pursuing 
that one object, it finds favor from those of somewhat op- 
posite views and in some respects conflicting interests ; 
must it therefore be abandoned ? Let it be so, that some 
give it countenance whose philanthropy is questionable, 
whose piety has no existence, whose motives are sinister, 
still, if the object of the Society is good, and the end to be 
desired by the philanthropist, the patriot, and Christian, 
ought we not rather to rejoice that the cause of benevolence 
and patriotism is promoted? " The presiding spirit, the 
life and soul of the institution has ever been, and ever must 
be. Christian principle. The patriot and llie statesman are 
deeply concerned in its success, and they cannot withhold 
their influence and co-operation ; but it commends itself es- 
pecially to the Christian heart, for there it finds a chord that 
vibrates in unison with its noble design. The most active 
and efficient friends of the scheme have been those whom 
Christianity claims as her own."* 

*"The patrons of this enterprise donbtless contemplate its character 
throush different mediums, and yield it their friendliness ur.der the intlii- 
ence of different motives. So various are the objects which it is adaoted 
and intended to accomplish, that one may regard it with favor for one rea- 
son, and another for a different reason, while each may feel that the aspect 
in which he views it, and the particular consideration which appeals effec- 
tively to his generous sympathy, are of sufficient importance to justify his 
unreserved co-operation. Hence, among the variety of reasons that secure 
the concurrence of its numerous friends, we find the foreign reasi>n and the 
domestic — the southern reason and the northern — the political, the com- 
mercial and the religious reason. 

" But, there is one patron of this enterprise, whose discerning eye contem- 
plates it in every aspect, and whose candor appreciates all its designs and 
tendencies, and in whose bosom all these reasons are blended into one, and 
whose kindness hesiiates not to express the cordial wish, and extend the 
liberal hand, and offer the fervent prayer for its enlarged success. Her 
name is Christianity. It is because the objects of this Society are good, that 
she approves them — and because they are both great and good, that she 
fosters them with her patronage. Contemplating the final removal from our 
country's escutcheon of a stain which is hourly growing deeper and broad- 
er and darker — and designing to alleviate the wretchedness of the free 
colored population, and place them in circumstances favorable to their 
physical and moral improvement — and aiming at the elevation of the black 
to a plalfijrm parallel w ith the white man, she delights in its high purposes 
for they are kindred to her own — and she would be recreant to her profes- 
sions, did she not extend to it her cordial encouragement, and sanction it 
with her choicest benedictions." — Rev. C. Stone. 



APPEXDIX. 333 

OBJECTIONS CONTRADICTORY. 

The opposers of colonization say that to advocate the 
scheme "on the ground of kindness to the people of color, 
as a means of remonng the free from prejudice which they 
cannot rise against here," which, say they, " is the motive 
with many, is to sacrifice at least two other objects — the mis- 
sionary- cause in Africa, and the extinction of slavery at 
home. For when we once admit the conclusion that the 
free people of color cannot be elevated here to an equal 
enjoyment of the civil and social principles of our institu- 
tions, you cease to labor for it. Your philanthropy then 
aims at the removal of the whole body of the free colored 
people. But the removal of such a body, so little improved 
by education and religion, to a heathen shore, cannot but be 
prejudicial to the spread of Christianity there." 

Again say they, "the effect of colonization is to fasten 
the bonds of the slave — for slave-holders avail themselves of 
the facilities which it affords, to drain off the excess of the 
free blacks, that they may oppress, with the greater safety, 
those who are still in bondage !" This last objection has 
been suggested, in substance, even by one to whose philan- 
thropy and benevolence, few who know him, would hesitate 
to yield the tribute of their cheerful testimony, and the 
purity of whose motive it is confidently believed is above 
suspicion. He says of African colonization, " It is a ques- 
tion, whether it should be patronized, whilst American slave- 
ry endures. Is it right to induce a portion of the colored 
people of this country- to turn their backs on their brethren 
in bonds ; to go to a retumless distance from them, and to 
enter upon the creation of new interests and attachments, 
which are calculated to efface the recollection of those left 
behind them? We must remember too, that this is the 
only portion of that unhappy population, which is at liberty 
to remonstrate against the cruelty and wickedness of oppres- 



334 APPENDIX. 

sion, and to plead for the exercise of mercy. Those for 
whom they are required to open their mouths, are not per- 
mitted to speak for themselves — and we must remember too, 
that amongst these dumb ones, whose cause we should there- 
by deprive of its most natural advocates, are, in innumer- 
able instances, the fathers, mothers, children, brothers, sis- 
ters, of lliose whom we propose to carry away. Were we, 
our families, and neighbors, to be carried captive into a 
foreign land, and were you and I to be released from bon- 
dage, would it be natural and right in us to separate our- 
selves by thousands of miles and for ever, from our friends 
and kindred, still pining under the yoke of slavery ? or 
would it not be a more humane and suitable use of our liberty 
to cleave to those beloved sufferers — to study the consolation 
of their aching hearts — and to be getting up every righteous 
appeal in their behalf to their guilty oppressors ? I would 
not say, that there is in the consideration I here present, a 
fatal objection to the colonization scheme. There is certain- 
ly, however, enough in it to lead us to inquire whether we 
are clearly doing right, and as we would be done by, when 
we labor to induce our free people of color to desert their 
enslaved brethren. There is certainly enough in it to ex- 
cuse the following resolution, (of certain blacks,) — 'Resolv- 
ed^ That we never will separate ourselves voluntarily from 
the slave population of our country. They are our brethren 
by the ties of consanguinity, of suffering and of wrong; 
and we feel that there is more virtue in suffering privations 
with them, than in enjoying fancied advantages for a sea- 
son.' " 

These objections are thus stated at some length, for can- 
dor requires it. But in reference to them, it may be proper 
to ask, whether the one objection does not in a good degree 
nullify the other ? If the colored people to whom the So- 
ciety would afford facilities for removing to Africa, are of 
such signal service at home, and so essential to their '* breth- 



I 



APPENDIX. 335 

riBil in bonds," might they not be greatly useful in Liberia ? 
Or, is the avowed object of their detention to secure their in- 
crease, and to encourage their co-operation with the slave 
stimulated by the arguments and persuasions and flatteries of 
a portion of the whites, until fearful and bloody scenes shall 
be the result? It is believed by many that there is but one 
possible way in which, opposing colonization, the blacks 
can be led to expect that they shall expedite the abolishment 
of slavery in our land, or that they can be of essential bene- 
fit to their " brethren in bonds," by remaining here; and 
that is, by the system of compulsion which has been alluded 
to. For how will the free blacks " remonstrate with the 
holders of slaves ? — lioiv appeal in behalf of their enslaved 
brethren, to their guilty oppressors?" Will their remon- 
strances be suffered at the South? — will their appeals be lis- 
tened to ? Or are the blacks who are already free, to " re- 
monstrate" indirectly, and to " appeal" indirectly, to those 
who are termed " guilty oppressors," through the influence 
of the people in the northern States ? Could the great ma- 
jority of the non-slaveholding States be brought to be of one 
mind on the subject, and should they think and declare their 
conviction that it is the duty of the slave-holder to give imme- 
diate and universal freedom to his slaves, what can they do 
more ? Violate the constitution ? Amend it ? Either at- 
tempt will be the certain signal for the dissolution of the 
Union, and perhaps for the flowing of rivers of blood. The 
South are evidently resolved to allow of no interference ; 
and it is honestly believed by many that a much surer way 
of bringing about unity of sentiment in relation to the course 
of the slave-holder, is to relieve all parts of our country as 
fast as possible from the evils which seem inseparable from 
the presence of a degraded population of the colored free. 
But why, again it is asked, why the solemn remonstrance 
against aiding the emigration of such free blacks as desire to 
settle in Liberia, on the ground that their *' appeals" and 



336 APPENDIX. 

" remonstrances" are needed at home, and that it would be 
a great dereliction of duty in them, '* to turn their backs on 
their brethren in bonds ?" Whether the resolution referred 
to would ever have emanated unsolicited from any portion of 
the colored people themselves, is a question concerning 
which some have expressed doubts ; and how far such a re- 
solution, and the declaration and use of it as above, is politic 
and calculated to benefit either the slave or the free, or con- 
ciliate feelings supposed to be adverse to the interests of 
both, admits also of doubt. 

COLONIZATION WILL ADVANCE CHRISTIANITY. 

As to this first objection — it is declared by the friends of 
colonization that they never designed to remove to Liberia 
such as forbid the hope of their becoming good citizens of 
the colony. Moreover when the humane, encouraged by 
the door which colonization opens for them to better the 
condition of their slaves, have resolved on their emancipa- 
tion, there has usually been an efi'ort preparatory, to qualify 
them for the new station which they are to occupy. Be- 
sides, not only is great pains taken by the Society in respect 
to the morals of those sent to the colony, and great encou- 
ragement given by the Society to the slave-holder to emanci- 
pate his slaves, and prepare them for freedom ; but it is a 
fact well understood, that those freed blacks who are here 
without sufficient incentive to manly efibrt, and without the 
means or opportunity to rise, are inspired with new life when 
placed in a situation which furnishes greater motive to energy 
and virtue. 

Circumstances have great influence in forming the cha- 
racter. *' The early circumstances of the people of New- 
England," says the Repository of 1831, "rendered them 
proverbially enterprising ; and we recently heard a foreigner 
remark, that England had hardly made a single invention in 



APPENDIX. 33t 

the mechanic arts, which has not already been improved 
upon in the United States. National, like individual cha» 
racter, is often elevated and strengthened by circumstanees ; 
and no one can doubt that many causes that can never be 
realized here, will operate in Africa to develope the talents, 
invigorate the faculties, and dignify the purposes of the peo- 
ple of color. 

Nationality is indispensable to the proper elevation of any 
people, and the full developement of the human intellect.* 
How many, who, had they remained here, would have been 
hewers of wood and drawers of water, undistinguished 
either for their enterprise, or any virtue, are achieving for 
themselves and descendants, great honor in Liberia ?t The 

* Dr. Beecher has well remarked, that " There is no such thing as raising 
the human mind without nationality. You must have the whole machinery 
of society, or you never will do it. That is the reason the Indians cannot 
be civilized. It is a slander to say that there is any thing in the Indian 
mind to prevent it. They are not improved, because you cannot bring upon 
them the motives for improvement. They have no national existence to 
bring out their powers. I mourn over their condition ; and sure I am, that 
if they could have one state where their mind would have a fair field to 
show itself, it would develope as great and noble traits as ever distinguished 
humanity. I never knew human nature in a state of barbarism where it 
exhibited such features as it does among our American Indians. As to the 
poor African, he never can rise without space to move in, and motives to 
action. If you refuse to remove him, you will have an equal number of 
paupers throvvn upon your shores, and then you must support both. The 
ways of God are high and dreadful. He takes the wickedest of men and 
causes them to accomplish his own purpose. Their hearts think not so, 
neither do they mean so ; but in their wickedness they do that which God 
blesses and overrules for good. The coast of Africa has been environed 
with dangers. It is almost inaccessible to the approach of the white man, 
and that whole continent hag yet to be civilized and christianized ; and 
how is it to be done? God has permitted what has come to pass. He has 
suffered its inhabitants to be brought here as slaves, and the transposition 
has scarcely increased their miseries. God is not in a hurry in accomplish- 
ing his designs; and by bringing them into a Christian land, he has pre- 
pared the way for Iheir being thrown back in a christianized condition on 
their native shore. I believe that colonization is destined to stop the slave- 
trade. Your colonies will stand like a chain of light from point to point 
along the whole dark coast of benighted Africa, and from the colonies will 
your missionaries go into the interior, until they shall have spread a belt of 
salvation over that benighted portion of the globe." 

t " It would be very difficult to point to any part of the world where new 
colonists are not, both intellectually and morally, superior to the people 
in the old country from whom they sprang. Especially is this the case where 
any pains have been taken to extend to the new settlement the means of 
moral and intellectual improvement. The colony in New South Wales, 
composed to a great extent of the most degraded class of the British people, 

E e 



338 APPENDIX. 

instances are not a few, and the facts are irresistible. And 
whilst they have done well both for themselves and posterity, 
by removal, it is also said in truth, " The elevated religious 
character of the colonists, their serious observance of the 
Sabbath, their strict integrity in commercial intercourse, and 
their habitual propriety of conduct, have secured the respect 
of the natives^ and placed matters in such an attitude, that 
any efforts to promote their temporal and eternal welfare 
would be kindly received and abundantly successful." 

Is the colony of Liberia such as " cannot but be prejudi- 
cial to the spread of Christianity ?" It is not the testimony of 
one alone, as given above ; but credible witnesses who have 
been at the colony, and seen for themselves, and were com- 
petent to form a correct and unprejudiced opinion, declare 
that a more moral community cannot be found together in 
any part of our own highly favored country I That a good 
Christian influence has been exerted by the colony, facts 
that call for gratitude to heaven, and that powerfully urge 
the claims of colonization upon our benevolence, fully attest. 
By the removal of the free blacks, they, as a whole, and their 
posterity, are blessed ; at the same time, Africa is blessed, 
and our own country is benefitted. The influence of the 
example of the colony upon the surrounding heathen, al- 
though that example may not be perfect, is good ; facilities 
are afforded by the colony to missionary effort which, with- 
out the colony, could not be enjoyed, and without which fa- 
cilities in the then present state of Africa, every effort would 
be comparatively hopeless ; the slave-trade is interrupted 
and will finally be utterly broken up ; and Africa is being 
restored to respectability and happiness, that she may rise 
from the dust, and her once enslaved children and their de- 
scendants may obtain a name and a place among the nations 
of the earth. 

of men and women condemned to transportation for their crimes, is now an 
industrious, moral, and flourishing community, and bids fair to become the 
nucleus of a great and respectable nation. New colonies, from the nature 
of the case, are favorable to the improvement of character." — KeposUory. 



APPENT)IX. 339 

It would be easy here lo multiply instances showing the 
rapid deterioration, generally, of slares, as respects morality, 
industr}', and all yirtue, when freed, without the stimulus 
which a new location, where are encouraging prospects of 
due elevation, gives. We will refer to an instance or two. 

Said William Ladd, Esq., of Maine, in an address before 
the Massachusetts Colonization Society, in 1833, in support 
of a resolution ' that the American Colonization Society 
merits the confidence and patronage of aU who are opposed, 
on principle, to slavery,' " 3Iany years ago I loaded a ship 
in Savannah, and had for my stevedore, one Joe Blog. He 
was one of the smartest and most faithful men I ever em- 
ployed. I gave his master a dollar a day for him, and gave 
Joe privately half a dollar a day beside. Joe was active, 
sleek, well-dressed, and sprighdy. Joe was a slave. Some 
years after, I remmed to the same port, and sought out my 
old friend Joe, and employed him. He was idle, resdess, 
i-agged, and lazy, and I soon dismissed him. Joe was free. 
And as far as my observation has extended, and I have lived 
long in slave countries, this is a fair sample of the liberated 
slaves, though there are noble exceptions. But I consider it 
more their misfortune than their fault. With no other in- 
centive to labor than the fear of the lash, tineducated and ig- 
norant, what better can we expect ?" 

The illustrious Madison, in a letter to a gendeman, pub- 
lished just before his decease, says, "Yon express a wish 
to obtain information in relation to the history of the emanci- 
pated people of color in Prince Edward. I presume those 
emancipated by the late Richard Randolph more especially. 
More than twenty-five years ago, I think, they were libe- 
rated, at which time they numbered about 100. and were 
setded on small parcels of land of ten to twenty-five acres to 
each faisdy. As long as the habits of industry which they 
had acquired while slaves, lasted, they continued to Increase 
in numbers, and lived in some desree of comfort.— but as 



340 APPENDIX 

soon as this was lost, and most of those who had been many 
years in slavery, either died or became old and infirm, and a 
new race raised in idleness and vice sprang up, they began 
not only to be idle and vicious, but to diminish instead of in- 
creasing, and have continued to diminish in numbers very 
regularly every year — and that too, without emigration ; for 
they have almost without exception, remained together, in 
the same situation as at first placed, to this day. Idleness, 
poverty, and dissipation are the agents which continue to 
diminish their numbers, and to render them wretched in the 
extreme, as well as a great pest and heavy tax upon the 
neighborhood in which they live. There is so little of in- 
dustry and so much dissipation among them, that it is im- 
possible that the females can rear their families of children — 
and the consequence is, that they prostitute themselves, and 
consequently have few children — and the operations of time, 
profligacy, and disease, more than keep pace with any in- 
crease among them. While they are a very great pest and 
heavy tax upon the community, it is most obvious they 
themselves are infinitely v;orsted by the exchange from 
slavery to liberty — if, indeed, their condition deserve that 
name." 

In reference to the other objection — that colonization per- 
petuates slavery, we may also appeal to facts. ]Mr. M. 
Carey has said truly, that "Among the most promising and 
encouraging circumstances attending the career of this So- 
ciety, are the numerous manumissions that have taken place 
m almost all the slave states, on the express condition of the 
freed people being sent to Liberia. These manumissions 
have occurred on a scale that the most sanguine friends of 
the scheme could not have anticipated. Entire families have 
been blest with their freedom, from the most pure motives, 
a conviction of the immorality and injustice of slavery — and 
in many cases ample provision has been made for the ex- 
pense of their passage, and in some, for their support in Li- 



APPENDIX. 341 

beria. They have been thus released from the debasement 
and degradation of slavery, and sent to the land of their fa- 
thers, to partake of all the happiness that freedom and the 
certainty of enjoying all the fruits of their labor, can in- 
spire." 

COLONIZATION PROMOTES EMANCIPATION. 

It would be impracticable here to enumerate all the cases 
that have transpired in which the opening at Liberia has been 
an inducement to the liberation of slaves. The facts which 
Mr. Carey collected and published in his letters, and those 
additional instances which have fallen under notice recently, 
cannot all be mentioned here. But a few instances may be 
given as specimens, to show the good influence of the society 
in encouraging emancipation, and to show the encourage- 
ment which is given to the Society to persevere and abound 
in its great and benevolent work. 

Col. Smith, an old revolutionary officer, of Sussex county, 
Va., ordered in his will, that all his slaves, seventy or eighty 
in number, should be emancipated ; and bequeathed above 
$5,000 to defray the expense of transporting them to Li- 
beria. Patsey Morris, of Louisa county, Va., directed by 
will, that all her slaves, sixteen in number, should be eman- 
cipated, and left $500 to fit them out, and defray the expense 
of their passage. Dr. Bradley, of Georgia, left forty-nine 
slaves free, on condition of their removal to Liberia. Mrs. 
EUzabeth Morris, of Bourbon co. Va., provided by will for 
the emancipation of her slaves, about forty in number. Da- 
vid Patterson, of Orange co. N. C, freed eleven slaves, to 
be sent to Liberia. A gentleman in N. C. last year, gave 
freedom to all his slaves, fourteen in number, and provided 
$20 each, to pay their passage to Liberia. Wm. Fitzhugh, 
bequeathed their freedom to all his slaves, after a certain 
fixed period, and ordered that their expenses should be paid 
to whatsoever place they should think proper to go. And, 
E e 2 



342 APPENDIX. 

*' as an encouragement to them to emigrate to the American 
colony on the coast of Africa, where," adds the will, " I be- 
lieve their happiness will be more permanently secured, I 
desire 'not only that the expenses of their emigration be paid, 
but that the sum of fifty dollars be paid to each one so emi- 
grating on his or her arrival in Africa." David Shriver, 
of Frederic co. Md., ordered by his will, that all his slaves, 
thirty in number, should be emancipated, and that proper 
provision should be made for the comfortable support of the 
infirm and acred, and for the instruction of the younsf in 

^ JO 

reading, writing, and arithmetic, and in some art or trade, by 
which they might acquire the means of support. Rev. Ro- 
bert Cox, Sufl?"olkco. Va., provided by his will for the eman- 
cipation of all his slaves, upwards of thirty, and left several 
hundred dollars to pay their passage to Liberia. A lady, 
near Charlestown, Va. liberated all her slaves, ten in num- 
ber, to be sent to Liberia ; and moreover purchased two, 
v.'hose families were among her slaves. For the one she 
gave $450, and for the other $350. Herbert B. Elder, of 
Petersburg, Va. bequeathed their freedom to all his slaves, 
twenty in number, with directions that they should be con- 
veyed to Liberia, by the first opportunity. ]Mrs. J. of Mer- 
cer CO. Kentucky, and her two sons, one a clergyman, and 
the other a physician, ofiered the Colonization Society sixty 
slaves to be conveyed to Liberia. Rev. Fletcher Andrew, 
gave freedom to twenty, who constituted most of his pro- 
perty, for the same purpose. Nathaniel Crenshaw, near 
Richmond, liberated sixty slaves, with a view to have them 
sent to Liberia. Mr. Isaac Ross, of Mississippi, an officer 
in the war of the revolution, more recently left all his slaves, 
170 in number, on the following conditions, viz : that after 
the death of his daughter, (now a widow,) the slaves who 
may be over twenty-one years of age shall decide whether 
they will remain in bondage or go to Africa. If they deter- 
mine to go to .Africa, all the property is to be sold, and the 



APPENDIX. 343 

proceeds, together ivith the proceeds of the crops till that 
time, (12,000 or 15,000 dollars excepted,) are to be expend- 
ed in their transportation and comfortable settlement in the 
colony of Liberia, and the establishment of an institution 
of learning in some part of the colony. If they determine 
not to go, they and all the estate is to be sold, and the pro- 
ceeds applied to the endowment of the aforesaid institution 
of learning. A gentleman of Louisiana, not long since, left 
thirty to go to Liberia, and directed his executors to pay 
their passage^ — an outfit of tools, implements of husbandry, 
provisions and clothes for one year, and to two of them he 
gave ^500 each. Another, from the same State, left thirty, 
making similar provisions for their removal to Africa, and 
for their comfort after their, arrival. In Virginia, recently, 
one has manumitted twenty-three, another fifty, another six- 
teen, and a fourth twenty-five ; and many others with 
similar and smaller numbers. But all were manumitted on 
condition of their going to Africa. In Tennessee, many ex- 
amples similar to the above have been given during the past 
year. One man liberated twenty-three, and another twenty- 
one, supplying them with ample funds, and also providing 
clothing for them, and furnishing them with suitable tools, 
and for paying the expense of their removal to Africa. Her 
legislature has promised to give $10 toward defraying the 
expenses of each one who shall go to Liberia. The ex- 
cellent example of Mr. Turpin, who some time since eman- 
cipated all his slaves in South Carolina, and gave them his 
estate valued at $329,000, is worthy of constant remembrance 
and imitation. Eighteen were liberated by Mrs. Greenfield, 
near Natchez, on the condition that they should go to Africa; 
and on the same condition E. B. Randolph, of Columbus, 
liberated twenty ; Wm. Foster, Esq. twenty-one ; another 
twenty-eight ; a gentleman in Kentucky, sixty ; a lady in 
the same State, forty ; all for the most part young, and all, 
with very few exceptions, under forty years of age. The 



344 



APPENDIX. 



Society of Friends in North Carolina had liberated, in 1835, 
no less than 652. 

Numerous applications are constantly before the Society, 
or its auxiliaries, for assistance in emigrating to Africa. A 
large number of slaves are, by the decision of their masters, 
free in prospect, and in a course of preparation for liberty ; 
whilst others will be free the moment they can find a pas- 
sage to Liberia. 

It is an unquestionable fact, well worthy of consideration, 
that the fewer slaves there are in any section of country, 
the more easy is it to emancipate ; and the stronger becomes 
the tendency to emancipation. The same remark may ap- 
ply to the absence of a free colored population in slave-hold- 
ing districts. It is not easy to emancipate the slave whilst, 
by so doing, you will in all probability increase the dangers 
that threaten society, and swell the number of those whose 
freedom seems to be a curse. Besides, as instances are 
multiplied, those who emancipate their slaves, become a 
standing monument, in the midst of a slave-holding commu- 
nity " of the triumph of Christian principle over selfish in- 
terest — a constant, living reproof to all who still retain their 
fellow-men in bondage."* 

If colonization were abandoned, many Chiistian slave- 
holders, who desire to emancipate their slaves, would be de- 
prived of the power of doing so, the laws of the slave-hold- 
ing States generally prohibiting emancipation unless the 
slaves are removed from the State. True, it may be said. 



* Much has been said in reference to emancipation, of a menial renuncki- 
tion of the right of property in slaves; "a renunciation wiiich the law 
would treat as a nullity, and which might be mentally retracted, at any 
moment, without the knowledge of the community." One instance, in the 
midst of the slave-holding States, of bona fide emancipation, evidenced by 
self-denying exertions to locate the emancipated in a land where they may 
be truly free and blessed, will, it is conscientiously believed, have more 
force in freeing others, than a hundred auxiliaries at the North, or tens of 
thousands of speeches and resolves which never reach the eye or ear of a 
single slave-holder, or if they do, serve only to irritate the slave-holder, and 
shut up every avenue to conviction. ^ 



APPENDIX. 345 

" these are wicked laws ;" and the sincerity of such slave- 
holders may be treated with discredit, and affected contempt 
and ridicule may assail them in the place of kind remon- 
strance and argument — as in the following instance, taken 
from an "immediate abolition" periodical : — 

" But are you not aware, Sir, that in many States 

there are laws against emancipation ?" This was uttered 
with a most imposing air by a man who was defending slave- 
ry under the present circumstances, " Indeed," replied his 
opponent, " but who make the laws ?" " The slave-hold- 
ers, to be sure." " So I thought ; and the unfortunate con- 
dition of the poor slave-holders, who have tied their own 
hands by such laws, reminds me of an anecdote. A lady 
somewhere in Virginia, on going out for a few hours, left 
some trifling matters to be attended to in her absence, by her 
little daughter. On her return, she found that all the things 
which were to be done, had been neglected. — ' How is this, 
my dear,' said she, ' why have you not done this, and 
why not that V ' Because I could'nt mamma.' ' But why 
could'nt you V * Why, don't you see, mamma, I am tied 
to the leg of the table V ' Indeed, so you are, bat who 
tied you to the leg of the table, my dear V ' Oh, I tied my- 
self, mamma ! /' " 

This anecdote, quite amusing in itself, whether founded 
in fact or supposed, is in its application, to say the least, 
unfair and sophistical. It- supposes that those slave-holders 
who find the laws an impediment in the way of emancipa- 
tion, are the identical majority of the several States, which 
majority has enacted those laws ; this, it is well known, is 
not the fact — and unless it be so, how is the comparison just 
or otherwise than unkind and insulting to the benevolent 
and Christian feelings of those who, seeking the best inter- 
ests of the colored race, are desirous of giving freedom to 
their slaves?* Besides, it is possible, not only for individu- 

*" In the year 1770, the Friends in the United States declared slavery to 
be inconsistent with the principles of Christianity, and prohibited it among 



340 APPENDIX. 

als who can have but little influence in legislation, but even 
for the majority^ even for a whole people, without an indi- 
vidual exception, to propose, and enact, and continue, and 
support such laws, without being hable to the inconsistency 
and reproach which is intended in the above comparison. 
Laws are designed for the general good ; and if it be not 
safe for the community at large ; and not generous and truly 
kind, but greatly injurious to the slaves at large, to emanci- 
pate them universally and immediately — laws for the pre- 
servation of the slave, and the protection of the common- 
wealth, are necessary and unavoidable ; and by those laws 
all good citizens must be governed, without exception. — 
Every good citizen in that case is " tied," not by himself, 
but by invincible necessity — the peculiar circumstances of 

tlie members of their body. The Friends of the Yearly Meeting of North 
Carolina, including a part of Tennessee and Virginia, amounting to many 
tiiousands, petitioned the Legislature of Korth Carolina, for permission to 
emancipate their slaves. It was refused. They continued to press the 
subject with petition after petition for forty years, and with no better suo- 
CEss. They at length, without law, emancipated their slaves upon the soil ; 
and what was the consequence? More than one hundred of those emanci- 
pated slaves were taken up, and sold into perpetual and hopeless bondage, 
under the laws of the State. Emancipation on the soil was plainly im- 
possible in the existing state of public feeling. After various expedients, 
and having expended in ten years more than §20,000 in procuring asylums 
for their slaves in the free States, the free States made enactments prevent- 
ing this intrusion of free blacks upon them. Pennsylvania, New- Jersey, 
and New- York were applied to in vain, the door was shut. Some years 
since, they embarked one hundred of their liberated slaves for Pennsylva- 
nia. They were refused a landing in the State. They went over to New 
Jersey. The same refusal met them there. They were then left to float up 
and down the Delaware river without a spot of dry land to set their feet 
upon, till the Colonization Society took them up and gave them a resting 
place in Liberia. 

"They have now five hundred slaves left, whom they are anxious to li- 
berate ; and what shall they do ; Get the laws of the State altered ? They 
labored after that for forty years, and more than one whole generation of 
black men died in bondage while their masters were striving to effectuaie 
immediate emancipation. Immediate emancipation they found to be so 
dow a process that they were obliged to resort to culonizatio.\, in order 
that something might be done immediattly. And in such instances, what 
possible mode of immediate relief is there except colonization ? Shall they 
resist the laws of the State ? This would be contrary to the principles of 
Quakerism; and on this point at least, the unlawfulness of aggressive re- 
sistance even to legalized oppression, the wrongfulness of destroymg human 
life for the attainment of any political purpose — on this point I must con- 
ceive that Quakerism is Christianity." — Pro/. Stowe. 



APPENDIX. 347 

the case which render such laws necessary both as an act of 
humanity toward the slave, and of sacred regard to the com- 
mon weal.* 

MISSION INTO THE INTERIOR. 

From the twentieth annual report of the American Co- 
lonization Society, we learn that " Commissioners were 
some time since appointed by the cobnial government to 
proceed into the interior as far as Bo Poro, the residence 
of King Boatswain, for the purpose of negotiating a peace 
between certain hostile tribes, and opening a friendly and 
mutually advantageous intercourse with the people of that 
region. D. W. Whitehurst, one of these commissioners, 
has recently visited the United States, and made report to the 
managers of his observations during his absence of four 
months from the colony. The commissioners resided at 
Bo Poro, (from 80 to 100 miles from Monrovia) several 
weeks, and though they failed, owing to the very disturbed 
state of the country, to effect the main object, they acquired 
information of great value. They passed through a fertile 
and beautiful country, upon which were scattered numerous 
fortified native towns, inhabited by a savage but active and 
industrious people, and abounding in the productions of tro- 
pical agriculture. Of a town within eight miles of Bo Poro, 
Mr. Whitehurst writes, * Every thing conspires to render 
this spot desirable for human happiness, if the propensity 
for war which the people have could be gotten over ; but as 
it is, every thing is secondary to the grand object of con- 
quest or capture. Groups of cheerful beings were passed 

* Though every virtuous man will aim to promote that state of society 
which secures freedom and equal rights to every member of the communi- 
ty, and though of the possibility of such a state under the influences of ci- 
vilization and Christianity, vi'e ought not to despair, yet it is unquestionable 
that individual freedom and individual happiness should ever be considered 
subordinate to the public good. It is not right that men should be free when 
their freedom will prove injurious to themselves and others. Hence, in all 
eqjightened communities, the restraints upon minors, and upon all who are 
found incapable of judging and acting for themselves." — llepository. 



848 APPENDIX. 

through, either planting or grubbing, while at the towns the 
women were generally employed in spinning cotton. Cot- 
ton grows abundant throughout the country, and every town 
is furnished, more or less, with the apparatus for dyeing and 
weaving. The sugar cane too we observed frequendy, while 
the plantain and banana were in the greatest profusion. The 
first notice, at times, that we would have of our proximity 
to a town, would be the dense and beautiful foliage of those 
trees, giving usnoticie of human habitations. We approach- 
ed Talma through beautiful walks of lofty and magnificent 
trees, very thickly interspersed with those of camwood, 
whose fragrant blossoms imparted delightful aroma to the 
atmosphere.' He remarks, ' The situation of Bo Poro is 
very obscure, being located in a valley formed by a chain of 
double mountains, completely encircling it and giving to their 
elevation a remarkable similitude to the seats of a theatre. 
The scenery by which the town is surrounded, is magnifi- 
cently grand ; as far as the eye can see, you discern moun- 
tain towering above mountain until they are lost in the dis- 
tance. The chain runs regularly for some miles, then a por- 
tion more lofty than the rest towers aloft, whilst from base to 
summit the eye can behold but one expanse of the greenest 
foliage. The land then assumes a gentle acclivity, and its in- 
creasing altitude soon raises it upon an elevation with other 
prominences, until the whole assumes the appearance of one 
continuous chain. Here, perhaps, the eye is met by a por- 
tion under cultivation, whilst there a path is distinctly visi- 
ble leading to regions beyond. At their base is to be seen 
the plantain, the sure evidence of the habitation of human 
beings, whilst from their shade will be seen ascending smoke 
from their various fires. On their summit the eye catches 
the outline of a distant town, whilst a barricaded one is more 
distinctly visible. Upon the whole, the scenery is more 
magnificent than any that I remember having seen, and it is 
to me a matter of great regret that I am unable to sketch wlyit 
was roost vividly impressed upon my mind.' 



APPENDIX. 349 

But amid these scenes, so adorned and enriched by the 
liand of nature, and where the useful arts are not wholly un- 
known, men are the victims of the worst superstition and 
vice. By the slave-trade they have been rendered more im- 
placable foes to each other than are the leopards of their for- 
ests, and even cannibalism: a crime not against reason and 
the moral sense alone, but revolting even to instinct, exists 
among them." 

NEW MISSION TO AFRICA. 

The Rev. J. Payne, and the Rev. L. B. Minor, sailed 
from Baltimore on the 18th of May, last, 1837, for Cape 
Palmas, as Missionaries from the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in these United States. 

At the late annual meeting of the Board of Missions of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, held since that time, the fol- 
lowing important action was had : 

Resolved, That it is expedient to have a Missionary 
Bishop of this Church for Foreign parts. 

Resolved, That the station of the said Missionary Bishop 
should be Africa. 

The Missionary Bishop thus provided for, is expected to 
extend his Episcopal supervision to other Missionary Sta- 
tions of the Board in Foreign Countries — probably to the 
several stations at Athens, in Syra, in Crete, in Persia, in 
China. But his location will be in Africa, the land of Ter- 
tullian, Cyprian, and other Fathers of the church. It is in- 
deed delightful to witness the interest which is now taken 
by the several denominations of evangelical Christians in 
behalf of that long neglected, but most interesting conti- 
nent ; and it is, to the author, matter of devout gratitude to 
God, that the Episcopal Church is thus coming up to the 
great and good work, and is about to be again efficiently 
organized in that once enlightened but now benighted land, 

Ff 



IN FA^riLiAR cox\t:rsatioxs ox the subject of 
SLAA^ERY AXD C0LONIZ.\TI0N: 

BY REV F. FREEMAN. RECTOR OF ST. DAMDS CHURCH. 
MA^^ATrxK, Pa. 

AUTHOR OF THE PASTOR's PLEA FOR PSALMODY, ETC. 



This work, now republished with considerable additions and 
and improvements, should be extensively read, since it contains more 
than any other publication, full and general information,, given with 
strict impartiality, on subjects of vast importance and increasing in- 
terest in ever}- part of our widely extended country. The first edition 
of 2(X)0 copies being exhausted, it has been considered by distinguish- 
ed friends of colonization, a desideratum that a revised and improved 
edition should be issued in such a form as may ensure its extensive 
circulation. The attention of all, favorable to free inquiry, and who 
know how to appreciate facts, and kind £ind candid reasoning, whatever 
their present views of the subject discussed may be, is therefore very 
respectfully invited to the work. The perusal of the work will abun- 
dantly compensate for the trifling cost, whilst its possession will be of 
great value for occasional reference. 

A few notices recommendatory of the work, consequent upon the ap- 
pearance of the first edition, have been selected from various leading 
periodicals, and are here inserted, that those who may feel inclined 
to aid a good object, and favor the circulation of the '* Plea," may be 
the better acquainted with the estimation in which it is held. 

From the Colonization Herald, Philadelphia, 
This work, so long a desideratum, will be read with equal pleasure 
and profit by ever}' true friend of the African race ; correct principles, 
sprightly narrative, and thrilling anecdote, being happily blended in a 
work of high literary merit. * * We hope the lime is not far dis- 
tant when a copy of it will be found in every family of our land. The 
spirit with which it is written mast commend it to the attentive perusal 
ef every one of good feeling. 

From the Journal of Commerce, CS'e-zv York. 
This is an able defence of colonization in the form of familiar dia- 
logues. The author goes over the whole ground of the controversy 
which has of late so agitated the country, bringing to his aid many 
appropriate observations of distinguished men, or extracts from their 
speeches, which are made to bear, in an interesting and instructive 
fSiuner, upon the points under discussion. 



352 

From the Presbyterian, Philadelphia. 
" Mr. Freeman has succeeded in making a very readable book, at 
once attractive and instructive. The conversational form adopted fur- 
nishes the opportunity of introducing great variety of matter without 
confusion and all bearing on the principal design. Sketches, anecdote, 
history and argument, are happily blended in furnishing a full view of 
the subject, and iu leading the mind to the conclusion that colonization 
is the only true remedy of an acknowledged evil, for the cure of which 
such unskilful means have lately been applied. * * * We recom- 
mend the perusal of Yaradee as a seasonable publication, and even 
our southern brethren, although they may possibly object to some of 
Its details, will, nevertheless, give credit to the author for his good 
spirit." 

From the A'ational Gazette, Philadelphia. 
" The author's ' Conversations' treat of a variety of interesting to- 
pics in connexion with the main subject, and much historical informa- 
tion is included in his pages." 

From the Baptist Monthly Paper, Philadelphia. 
'■ Itas, as it purports to be, a series of familiar conversations thrown 
into an'' attractive form. In this day of excitement upon the subject 
of slavery, abolition, and colonization, of clashing statements of fact, 
and conflicting opinions, we think Mr. Freeman has performed a va- 
luable service for the community ; and we hope not in vain. There 
seems a very pleasing variety of fact and incident embodied in the 
work, which will, as we before remarked, render it attractive, while we 
tear not to predict its utility, if it is read. 

Fro7n the United States Gazette, Philadelphia. 
A part of this volume contains a learned dissertation upon the ori- 
gin of slavery, and of the cause of that evil upon Africa. The wri- 
ter quotes from many ingenious authors, and gives great interest to his 
work by his happy use of his reading. * * * He sets forth the 
evils of slavery to the master as well as to the slave, and points to co- 
lonization as a remedy." 

Fro?7i the Commercial Advertiser JVetv York. 
'- It appears to be designed to present, at one view, a summary of the 
views of the different parties on these two topics, (slavery and coloni- 
zation,) and the arguments and facts on which each of them relies. 
In the main we regard the spirit of the author to be unexceptionable. 
* * * We have been pleased with the general tendency of the vo- 
lume, which is to exhibit the present attractive position which Provi- 
dence has given to the scheme of African colonization. The informa- 
tion it contains, ought to be universally disseminated in our own coun- 
try, and if British philanthropists and orators would read it they would 
spare themselves, and others, the exhibitions of windy eloquence, 
by which they are making themselves ridiculous, and slandering the 
nation." 



353 

Frofu the Keystone, Harri^bur^, Pa. 
^' We have perused the above work with as much pleasure as we 
could probably peruse any work treating upon the subject ©f Africa, 
and her much injured race, and we would most cheerfully recommend 
it to the perusal of all others, especially those who feel interested in 
the subject ; and who does not at this time 1 It contains a glance 
at the origin of the African race, and the history of Africa— a 
brief history of the slave trade, slavery, and of the Colonization So- 
ciety. The work is written in familiar style of dialogue, and breathes 
throughout a pure spirit of enlightened philanthropy. The author's views 
are, as he says, ' the conscientious result of much reflection, personal 
observation, and a long residence at the south.' The book should be in 
every family." 

From the Lancaster Journal, Fa. 
" Those wishing a full illustration and investigation of the subject 
of slavery and colonization, we refer to the above work. ^Ve think 
none can rise from its perusal without having their minds enlightened 
on this very important subject," 

From the Philadelphia Observer. 
" Yaradee, a Plea for Africa, is the title of the interesting book in 
which Mr. Freeman has collected and judiciously arranged a iiumber 
of important facts relative to the history and evils of slavery ; he ha* 
also rendered the work more valuable by collating and presenting in 
their connexion with each other, the sentiments of many of the most 
enhghtened and distinguished men, both in Europe and America, who 
have contributed of their influence and talents in aid of the cause 
which he pleads. He has appropriately adopted a conversational style 
and so happily blended entertainment with instruction, as to render his 
Plea a captivating manual, not only for the use of mature inquirers but 
also of those who are soon to assume an active agency in consumma- 
ting the plans which their seniors shall have commenced. * * We be- 
lieve that whoever shall read it, and we believe they will be many, will 
derive from it much knowledge, and receive such impressions as will 
better qualify them to act with an intelligent zeal in promoting the ob- 
ject the attainment of which it contemplates." 

From the Christian Intelligencer, .^ V.c York. 
" In this work the author has arranged and collected a number of 
facts in relation to the history and evils of slavery, and the whole is de- 
signed and calculated to excite sympathy for the colored race, and to 
prompt to measures for the melioration of their condition. Mr. Free- 
man is the enlightened and zealous friend of the cause of colonization ; 
he views it as most auspiciously operating upon the cause of universal 
emancipation ; securing in its success the moral and spiritual renova- 
tion of long oppressed and degraded Africa. A great variety of mat- 
ter is introduced, and amusement and instruction are happily blended. 
Sketches, anecdotes, historv, and argument, are furnished in order to 

Ff2 



354 

give a full view of the subject. We know of no work on the subject 
better adapted for popular use, in imparting interest and instruction, 
and we feel free in recommending it to our readers." 

Besides the above editorial notices a reviewer of the work, who is 
known to be a distinguished clergyman, in a series of numbers in the 
A'ev.' York Observer, says : . 

" This is a most seasonable and useful publication, called for by the 
peculiar state of the public mind in reference to the now all absorbing 
topic, both in the jjolitical and religious world, viz. the colored race ; 
called for also by the discussions in progress on that subject." The 
author " has happily succeeded in avoiding almost entirely the language 
and spirit of reprehension and severity towards any party or individual 
whose views may differ from his own. iSo one can, certainly no one 
ought to complain, who entertains different sentiments from the author 
since he so carefully avoids those ' grievous words which stir up anger,' 
and so copiously employ those ' soft answers which turn away wrath.' " 

To the foregoing notices is subjoined the following from the respect- 
ed Secretaries of the Pennsylvania Colonization Society and the Ame- 
rican Society for the promotion of Education in Africa : 

*• The Plea for Africa is recommended to all the friends of the Colo- 
nization Society, and to all friends of Africa, and of the colored peo- 
ple in this land, as the best exhibition of the argument for the Coloni- 
zation scheme now extant. It is full of interestinsr information. 

ORSO^'^DOUGLASS, 
Gen. Agl. and Cor, Sec. of the Penn. Col. Society. 
REUBEN D. TURNER, 
Cor. Sec. and Gen. Agt. of the Am. Society for Edc. in Africa. 
June 17, 1S37. 



355 
PSALITIODIA. 

OR THE PASTOR'S PLEA FOR SACREL PSALMODY. 
By rev. F. FREEMAX, 

RECTOR OF ST. DAVId's CHrRCH, MANAYrNK : AUTHOR OF 

THE " PLEA FOR AFRICA," (fcc; BY J. WHETHAM, XO.;22 

SOUTH FOURTH STEET, PHILADELPHIA, AND 

EZRA COLLIER, 148 NASSAU STREET, 

NEW YORK. 



The following are some of the notices which have been taken of 
this work b-v religious and other periodicals : 

Extract from " The JMissionary,'' Burlington, A' J. 

•' In this little volume, so very neatly printed, with the most appro- 
priate mottoes most tastefully arranged, the Rev. Mr. Freeman, Rector of 
St. David's, Manayunk. has done the Church good, and we should 
hope acceptable service. We are happy in an auxiliary so zealous and 
so able, in a cause which we have so much at heart : and commend his 

pastoral plea to all who have— and keep us clear of all who have not 

music in their hearts. Our Pastor of Si. David's — an excellent pa- 
tron for P.salmodia — pleads earnestly, first that it is our duty to sing 
God's praise, and second, to do it well. Under the latter head, he argues 
that singing should be congregational, the tune appropriate both to 
the occasion and sentiment, the deportment decent and devotional 
the heart engaged — singing and making melodv in oui hearts unto 
the Lord." 

Extract f-om the '• Episcopal Recorder" Pluladelphia. 

" This little work has long been needed. The subject of Church 
music, as important as it is, has been altogether unattended to in the 
degree that its proper merit would reasonably demand. Especiallv in 
a Church whose public devotions admit so much singing as does the 
Episcopal Church, should Psalmody claim much attention. This is 
a subject, however, which has been almost entirely overlooked, and in 
view of this fact, the little work, whose title we give above, ha* been 
produced. The work before us considers the duty of singing God's 
praise, and the manner in which that duty should be performed ; under 



356 

which two heads are briefly discussed almost every thing that properly 
pertains to Ciiurch music. We commend it earnestly to those whom 
it concerns, and ivhom does it not ? with a hope that the subject will 
meet with more attention than it has heretofore had. We hope that 
the work will be widely circulated and carefully read." 

Extract from " The Churchman,'' New York. 

" This work is divided into four parts, the first consisting of intro- 
ductory remarks, and the last of a conclusion and appendix. The 
second part contains three chapters on " singing God's praise," and the 
third contains twelve chapters on '•' the manner in which the duty should 
be performed." Of the correctness of its scientific principles, we are 
incompetent to give an opinion ; but the spirit and design of it are 
excellent." 



Extract from a Brooklyn Paper, JV. Y. 

" This is a very pretty duodecimo, and is well worthy an attentive 
reading. The views of the writer are sound and Christian-like. The 
importance of music, vocal and instrumental ; the duty of each indi- 
vidual to join in the service ; the parts to be performed by the leader, 
the choir, and the congregation ; the disapproval of all singing by 
proxy, i. e. of the ch.oit for the congregation ; and the remarks on the 
proper use of instruments, are each deserving of the consideration of 
the members of churches of all denominations." 



Extract from a Review in " The Musical Magazine," New 
York, by Thomas Hastings, Esq. 

" We greet this little volume with peculiar pleasure, as furnished 
by the pen of a worthy clergyman. This, we would fondly hope, is 
the commencement of a better era in the American Churches. Who 
shall become the successful advocates of true devotional praise while 
ministers treat the subject with manifest indifference 1 * * We are 
glad that the author has come before the public, and are persuaded that 
his little book, coming from such a source as it does, will be of service 
to the cause. The religious claims of the cause, the duties of the 
teacher, the organist, the choir, the congregation, the clergy — on such 
topics as these the writer seems quite at home, and desirous of deliver- 
ing his message with faithfulness and zeal. We hope that such men 
as he will continue to speak till songs of praise shall echo through 
the land." 



357 
TO CLERGYMEN, STUDENTS IN THEOLOGY, 

J. WHETHAM takes this opportunity of informing his customers 
and the public generally that he has lately imported a large assortment 
of the most important works in the various departments of Theology, 
Church History and Biblical Literature, selected by a competent agent 
in Europe, with a view to the wants of clergymen, students of theo- 
logy, and persons engaged in a course of collegiate education; and on 
such terms as to enable him to offer them at lower prices than they can 
be obtained at any other store in the United States. 

The following books are published by Joseph Whetham : — 
GILL'S COMMENTARY ON THE OLD AND NEW TES- 
TAME NT, 9 vols. 4to. 

DICK'S THEOLOGY. Lectures on Theology, by the late Rev. 
John Dick, D. D., with a Preface, Memoir, &c., second American 
edition, 2 vols, royal 8vo. 

WATSON'S DIVINITY. A Body of Practical Divinity in a 
Series of Sermons on the Shorter Catechism, with sermons on various 
subjects, by Thomas Watson, 1 vol. royal 8vo. 

COLLYER'S LECTURES. Lectures on Scripture Facts and 
Prophecy, by William Benj. Collyer, 1 vol. 8vo. 

CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITIES Antiquities of the Christian 
Church ; edited by Rev. C. S. Henry, 8vo. 

JONES' CHURCH HISTORY. The History of the Christian 
Church from the Birth of Christ to the XVIIIth Century, including 
the interesting account of the Waldenses and Albigenses, by Wm. 
Jones, 1 vol. 8vo. 

CALVIN ON ROMANS. A Commentary on the Epistle to the 
Romans, by John Calvin, translated by F. Sibson, A. B. r2mo. 

MEMOIR OF RICE. A memoir of (he Rev. John H. Rice, D. D. 
First Professor of Christian Theology in Union Theological Seminary 
Virginia, by V/m. Maxwell, Esq. 12mo. 

ALEXANDER'S EVIDENCES. Evidences of the Authenticity, 
Inspiration, and Canonical Authority of the Holy Scriptures, by A. 
Alexander, D. D., of Princeton, N. J., 12mo. 

DREW ON THE RESURRECTION; 12mo. 

BROWN'S CHRISTIAN PASTOR'S MANUAL; 12mo. 

CANON OF SCRIPTURE. The Canon of the Old and New 
'I'estaments ascertained, or the Bible complete without the Apocrypha 
and underwritten Traditions, by A. Alexander, D. D., 12mo. 

CLERICAL MANNERS. Letters on Clerical Manners and 
Habits ; addressed to a student in the Theological Seminary, Prince- 
ton, N. J., by Saml. Miller, D. D., 12mo. 

RAMSEY'S MISSIONARY JOURNAL. Journal of a Mission- 
ary Tour in India ; performed by the Rev. Messrs. Read and Ramsey 
Edited by Rev. Wm. Ramsey, 1 vol. 12mo. 



358 

YARADEE. A Plea for Africa, in Familiar Conversations on the 
subject of Slavery and Colonization, by Rev. F. Freeman, 12mo. 

BRIDGES ON THE 119th PSALM. Exposition of Psalm CXIX, 
as illustrative of the Character and Exercises of Christian Experience 
by the Rev. Charles Bridges, M. A., 1 vol. 12mo. 

MEMOIR OF HALYBURTOX. Memoirs of Rev. Thomas 
Halyburton, with an Introductory Essay, by Robert Burns, D. D., and 
a Preface by Rev. A. Alexander, D. D., 12mo. 

CASES OF CONSCIENCE. Religious Cases of Conscience, 
answered in an evangeUcal manner, at the casuistical lecture in little 
St. Helens, by S. Pike and S. Hay ward, 12mo. 

EVANGELICAL MUSIC ; Or the Sacred Harp and Sacred 
Minstrel united — designed to accompany the new arranged edition of 
the General Assembly's Psalms and Hymns. 

DREW ON THE SOUL. An Original Essay on the Immateri- 
ality and Inimortahty of the Human Soul; founded solely on Physical 
and Rational Principles, by Samuel Drew, A. M., 12mo. 

LIEE OF CALVIN. The Life of John Calvin, by Theodore 
Beza, translated by Francis Sibson, A. B., with copious Notes by the 
American Editor, 12mo. 

THE NUN, by Mrs. Sherwood, third Edition, 12mo. 

FABER ON INFIDELITY. The Difficulties of Infidelity, by 
George Stanley Faber, B. D. Rector of Long Newton, 12mo, 

MILLER ON BAPTISM. Infant Baptism Spiritual and reason- 
able, by Baptism, by Sprinkling, or Aftusion, the most suitable and 
edifying mode, by Samuel ^liller, D. D., 12mo. 

DIVINE PURPOSE. The divine purpose displayed in the works 
of Providence and Grace, by Rev. John Matthews, D. D., 18mo. 

PSALI^IODIA ; Or the Pastor's Plea for Psalmody, by Rev. F. 
Freeman, IS mo. 

THE TEST OF TRUTH, by Mary Jane Graham, 18mo. 

THE FREENESS OF GOD'S JUSTIFYING AND ELECT- 
ING GRACE, by Mary Jane Graham, ISmo. 

SCRIPTURE CATECHISM. The Catechism of the W^estmin- 
ster Assemblies of Divines, with Spiritual Questions and Answers, by 
Rev. Matthew Henry, D. D, Also a Famihar Exposition of the Lord's 
Prayer, ISmo. 

THE YOUNG COMMUNICANT'S CATECHISM, by Rev. John 
Willison, with questions. &c., by Rev. Ashbel Green, ISmo. 

ELEMENTS OF GEOMETRY, by Eugenius Nulty, royal, 
12 mo. 

SMART'S LITERAL TRANSLATION OF HORACE, 2 vols. 
ISmo. new edition. 

KENNEDY'S THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ARITH- 
METIC, ISmo. 



359 

PSALMS AND HYMNS adapted to Public Worship, and approv- 
ed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America ; the latter being arranged according to subjects, 
together with titles prefixed to each and directions for Musical expres- 
sions, &c. &c., 32mo. 

do. do. do. 32mo. 

do. do, do. 12mo. 



The following are published by J. W. in connexion with a house 
in London, and ofiered to the trade in quantities. 
Neal's History of the Puritans, 3 vols. 8vo. 
Witsius on the Covenants, 2 vols, 8vo. 
Edwards on the Freedom of the Will, 8vo. 
Ellis's Knowledge of Divine things, 12mo. 
Massillon's Sermons, with Life, &c. 8vo. 
Fisher's Manner of Modern Divinity, 12mo. 
Howe's Delighting in God, 18mo. 
Leland's Deistical Writers, 8vo. 
Jenning's Jewish Antiquities, 8vo. 
Cole on God's Sovereignty, 12mo. 
Pascal's Thoughts, 12mo. 
Gurnall's Christian Armour, 8vo. 
Hervey's Theron and Aspasio. 
Bp. Berkley's Works, 3 vols. 8vo. 



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